NCJ Number
114638
Date Published
1988
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This chapter considers current Australian sentencing pertaining to mentally disordered offenders, female offenders, juvenile offenders, and habitual offenders and presents the Australian Law Reform Commission's recommendations for such sentencing.
Abstract
Commission sentencing recommendations for mentally ill and intellectually disabled offenders are viewed by the commission as stop-gap measures until comprehensive reforms are implemented. One set of recommendations focuses on consideration of mental illness and intellectual disability as mitigating factors in sentencing. Other recommendations for such offenders address new sentencing options such as hospital orders, psychiatric probation orders, guardianship orders, and program probation orders. The issue of segregation versus integration of mentally disordered inmates is also discussed. Regarding juvenile offenders, the commission recommends that they be sentenced under the 'justice' model, with emphasis on rehabilitation in the context of a just punishment. In the case of female offenders, the commission recommends additional research into the possibility of gender discrimination in sentencing and favors noncustodial sentences for mothers of young children. Regarding habitual offenders, the commission recommends repeal of that section of the 1914 Crimes Act which permits the preventive detention of 'habitual' offenders based on their past criminal record. 71 footnotes.