Abstract
This article traces the origins and potential impacts of two sentencing laws passed in 1997 by the Florida Legislature. The Criminal Punishment Code abandoned statewide structured sentencing and increased opportunities for racial and geographic disparity. The Prisoner Release Reoffender Punishment Act mandated long statutory maximum sentences for repeat offenders in reaction to appellate court rulings that more punitive gain time provisions could not be retroactively applied. Both laws continued a long-standing pattern of unsystematic, yet continual, tinkering with sentencing and correctional policy. The article places the Florida case in the context of the national movement for determinate sentencing and discusses areas for further research.
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