NCJ Number
113868
Journal
Rutgers Law Journal Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 823-848
Date Published
1988
Length
26 pages
Annotation
While the Model Penal Code's sentencing provisions were considered progressive when the Code was enacted 25 years ago, they must be revised if they are to reflect the current sentencing reform movement and the development of sentencing guidelines.
Abstract
The Code was drafted when sentencing systems were indeterminate in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and in the Federal system. Trial judges determined who went to jail or prison, and they set minimum and maximum sentences. Release was determined by parole boards. Indeterminate sentencing enabled individualized sentences based on the total circumstances surrounding the crime and gave weight to the defendant's capacities for rehabilitation. In the 1970's many States abolished parole release and instituted determinate sentencing laws, some of which contain statutory sentencing provisions while others feature presumptive sentencing guidelines. These two policies are discussed in detail, along with the experiences of individual States in developing sentencing systems. Several modifications to the Code are proposed, including a reclassification of felonies and an examination of fines and nonprison punishments. 117 footnotes.