Model Penal Code: Sentencing—Workable Limits on Mass Punishment
TL;DR: The Model Penal Code: Sentencing (MPCS) as discussed by the authors rewrites the 1962 MPC's provisions on sentencing and corrections, and has been used extensively since the 1960s.
Abstract: The Model Penal Code: Sentencing (MPCS) rewrites the 1962 Model Penal Code’s provisions on sentencing and corrections. Since the 1960s, use of all forms of punishment has exploded, includin...
Citations
More filters
Journal Article•
78 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that probation was not the primary driver of mass incarceration in most states, nor is it likely to be a simple panacea to mass incarceration, and reforms to probation can be part of the movement to reverse mass incarceration.
Abstract: After four decades of steady growth, U.S. states' prison populations finally appear to be declining, driven by a range of sentencing and policy reforms. One of the most popular reform suggestions is to expand probation supervision in lieu of incarceration. However, the classic socio-legal literature suggests that expansions of probation instead widen the net of penal control and lead to higher incarceration rates. This article reconsiders probation in the era of mass incarceration, providing the first comprehensive evaluation of the role of probation in the build-up of the criminal justice system. The results suggest that probation was not the primary driver of mass incarceration in most states, nor is it likely to be a simple panacea to mass incarceration. Rather, probation serves both capacities, acting as an alternative and as a net-widener, to varying degrees across time and place. Moving beyond the question of diversion versus net widening, this article presents a new theoretical model of the probation-prison link that examines the mechanisms underlying this dynamic. Using regression models and case studies, I analyze how states can modify the relationship between probation and imprisonment by changing sentencing outcomes and the practices of probation supervision. When combined with other key efforts, reforms to probation can be part of the movement to reverse mass incarceration.
77 citations
TL;DR: For example, the tendency for US penal policies and practices to proudly diverge from those of other Western countries has severely limited the development of penal exceptionalism as discussed by the authors, which has been identified as a major obstacle to penal development.
Abstract: Over the past several decades, American penal exceptionalism—the tendency for US penal policies and practices to proudly diverge from those of other Western countries—has severely limited the dev
18 citations
Cites background from "Model Penal Code: Sentencing—Workab..."
...As of 2020, the United States was still a punitive outlier on the international stage, and yet some hints of hope engender a “cautious optimism” (K. R. Reitz & Klingele, 2019, p. 260)....
[...]
Posted Content•
TL;DR: For example, this paper argued that the use of predictions of dangerousness to determine who is imprisoned and for how long is unjust; predictive accuracy has improved little in 50 years and current methods too often lengthen prison terms of people who would not have committed violent crimes.
Abstract: Efforts to standardize sentences and eliminate disparities in a state or the federal system cannot succeed; distinctive practices and norms, diverse local cultures, and practical and political needs of officials and agencies assure major local differences in sentencing practice. Presumptive sentencing guidelines developed by sentencing commissions, however, are the most effective means to improve consistency, reduce disparity, and control corrections spending. Federal sentencing guidelines have been remarkably unsuccessful; they should be rebuilt from the ground up. Mandatory sentencing laws should be repealed, and no new ones enacted; they produce countless injustices, encourage cynical circumventions, and seldom achieve demonstrable reductions in crime. Black and Hispanic defendants are more likely than whites and Asians to be sentenced to imprisonment, and for longer; presumptive sentencing guidelines reduced racial disparities initially and over time, but most states do not have presumptive guidelines. Use of predictions of dangerousness to determine who is imprisoned and for how long is unjust; predictive accuracy has improved little in 50 years and current methods too often lengthen prison terms of people who would not have committed violent crimes. Except in the handful of states that have effective systems of presumptive sentencing guidelines, parole release is an essential component of a just and cost-effective sentencing system in the United States.
17 citations
Cites background from "Model Penal Code: Sentencing—Workab..."
...…appeals, including authorizing appellate judges to overturn disproportionately severe sentences (including those resulting from mandatory sentence laws) and to take a “second look” at the need for continued confinement of prisoners who have served 15 or more years (Reitz and Klingele 2019)....
[...]
...The American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code—Sentencing offered the same recommendation in 2017 (Reitz and Klingele 2019)....
[...]
...EveryAmerican state should establish a sentencing commission and direct it to develop presumptive guidelines, as the recently approvedModel Penal Code—Sentencing proposes (Reitz and Klingele 2019)....
[...]
...The fourth is to undertake racial impact studies throughout the criminal justice system to learn whether laws, policies, and practices do disproportionate damage to members of particular groups and to reconsider the justifiability of those that do (Reitz and Klingele 2019)....
[...]
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of parole on reentry and challenge the dominant governmental approach to post-release reentry is analyzed. But, they conclude that parole fails at both of these goals and in fact can sometimes hinder the reentry process.
Abstract: In this paper, I analyze the effect of parole on reentry and challenge the dominant governmental approach to post-release reentry. One of the features of current reentry policy is that many states rely on their parole or post-prison supervision agencies to provide post-release reentry services. In the paper, I argue that the changing nature of parole supervision over the last forty years, specifically the shift from a casework approach to a surveillance approach, should lead policymakers to rethink this approach. Relying on interviews I conducted with people on parole in New York City as well as prior research on parole outcomes, I examine the effect of parole on reentry. Jeremy Travis has argued that reentry has two goals — promoting public safety and promoting reintegration of former prisoners. I conclude that parole fails at both of these goals and in fact can sometimes hinder the reentry process. Accordingly, I argue that parole agencies should not be providing post-release reentry services and suggest an alternative approach for states to consider. In particular, I suggest that reentry outcomes could be improved by separating the surveillance and monitoring aspects of parole from its reentry aspects.
10 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Wilson's "The Truly Disadvantaged" as mentioned in this paper was one of the sixteen best books of 1987 and won the 1988 C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
Abstract: ""The Truly Disadvantaged" should spur critical thinking in many quarters about the causes and possible remedies for inner city poverty. As policy makers grapple with the problems of an enlarged underclass they--as well as community leaders and all concerned Americans of all races--would be advised to examine Mr. Wilson's incisive analysis."--Robert Greenstein, "New York Times Book Review" "'Must reading' for civil-rights leaders, leaders of advocacy organizations for the poor, and for elected officials in our major urban centers."--Bernard C. Watson, "Journal of Negro Education" "Required reading for anyone, presidential candidate or private citizen, who really wants to address the growing plight of the black urban underclass."--David J. Garrow, "Washington Post Book World" Selected by the editors of the "New York Times Book Review" as one of the sixteen best books of 1987. Winner of the 1988 C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
7,278 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: The mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control in the UK as much as in the US as mentioned in this paper, despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men.
Abstract: In a bold and innovative argument, a rising legal star shows readers how the mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control. This is a terrifying reality that exists in the UK as much as in the US. Despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men and deprives an entire segment of the population of their basic rights.
4,913 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: Part of the courts, criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology, Law and Society Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Legislation Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons.
Abstract: How does access to this work benefit you? Let us know! Follow this and additional works at: http://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_pubs Part of the Courts Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Criminology Commons, Judges Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Legislation Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons
916 citations
"Model Penal Code: Sentencing—Workab..." refers background in this paper
...To date, that is lacking (Nagin 2013; Travis, Western, and Redburn 2014)....
[...]
...…of purposes that are simply not apposite to a particular case, such as the goal of victim restitution when there is no victim. the speed and likelihood of punishment can promote general deterrence; von Hirsch et al. 1999; Webster and Doob 2012; Nagin 2013; Travis, Western, and Redburn 2014, chap....
[...]