NCJ Number
103986
Editor(s)
M Wasik,
K Pease
Date Published
1987
Length
216 pages
Annotation
Nine papers consider the need for sentencing reform in England and Wales, with particular attention to sentencing guidelines systems used in the United States.
Abstract
The introductory paper notes there has been little legislative guidance on sentencing in the United Kingdom, as constraints on judicial sentencing discretion derive largely from the principles promulgated in sentence-review case law. Two background papers on sentencing guidelines systems trace the history of sentencing guidelines in the United States, noting their varieties and essential elements, and examine 'second generation' issues and problems encountered by U.S. jurisdictions that have established sentencing commissions to promulgate guidelines. Another paper considers the relative merits of numerical sentencing guidelines, as used in Minnesota, and narrative guidelines as manifested in England, Finland, and Sweden. Papers that assess current sentencing practices in the United Kingdom analyze the disparity between sentencing for similar offenses in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts and the inadequacy of appellate sentence-review case law for the construction of valid retributive sentencing. Papers that examine sentencing reform for the United Kingdom propose steps for codifying detailed sentencing guidance for magistrates and judges, examine implications of sentencing reform for pretrial discretion and presentence reports, and address criminal history factors in sentencing deliberations. An appended description of the Minnesota sentencing guidelines system, chapter references, and subject index.