The Sanction of Imprisonment: for Whom, for What, and How

Abstract

Major provisions of the Model Sentencing Act are criticized—the classification of criminals according to their presumed "dangerousness," the unlimited discretion given to the judge in fixing the length of the prison sentence for the dangerous offender, and the use of parole as a mechanism for early release. A new sentencing act is envisioned, one that would distinguish two classifications of criminals. It would authorize imprisonment of those with a known pattern of repetitively violent acts, delineated by a prior record of such acts in addition to the violent crime underlying the instant convic tion. All other criminals, regardless of their prior record, would be ineligible for imprisonment. Psychiatric predictions or diagnostic examinations would be eliminated for sentencing purposes unless they were introduced by the defendant as mitigating evidence. The prison sentence would be fixed within a narrow range of statutory minimums and maximums, established according to the degree of seriousness of the crime, thus restricting the judge's discretion and reducing sentence disparity. The time fixed in the sentence would be the time actually served; it could not be extended or reduced by parole or good-time credits.