Handbook on Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century / Edited by Cassia Spohn and Pauline K. Brennan

It includes Index pages

Book Description:
Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century focuses on the evolution and consequences of sentencing policies and practices, with sentencing broadly defined to include plea bargaining, judicial and juror decision making, and alternatives to incarceration, including participation in problem-solving courts.

This collection of essays and reports of original research explores how sentencing policies and practices, both in the United States and internationally, have evolved, explores important issues raised by guideline and non-guideline sentencing, and provides an overview of recent research on plea bargaining in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Other topics include the role of criminal history in sentencing, the past and future of capital punishment, strategies for reducing mass incarceration, problem-solving courts, and restorative justice practices. Each chapter summarizes what is known, identifies the gaps in the research, and discusses the theoretical, empirical, and policy implications of the research findings. The volume is grounded in current knowledge about the specific topics, but also presents new material that reflects the thinking of the leading minds in the field and that outlines a research agenda for the future.

This is Volume 4 of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Corrections and Sentencing handbook series. Previous volumes focused on risk assessment, disparities in punishment, and the consequences of punishment decisions. The handbooks provide a comprehensive overview of these topics for scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Cassia Spohn and Pauline Brennan

I. THE EVOLUTION OF SENTENCING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

1. The Transformation of Sentencing in the 21st Century

Megan C. Kurlychek and John H. Kramer

2. Sentencing Guidelines in the U.S.

Richard S. Frase and Kelly Lyn Mitchell

3. Sentencing Guidelines Outside the United States

Julian V. Roberts and Lyndon Harris

II. ISSUES IN GUIDELINE AND NON-GUIDELINE SENTENCING

4. Inter-District Differences and Extra-Legal Disparity under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines: The Trees Are "Substantially" more Important than the Forest

Richard D. Hartley

5. Minimum Sentencing for Serious Offences: Lessons from Australia

Kate Fitz-Gibbon and James Roffee

6. Discretionary Release Practices for Juveniles Facing Life: A Review of State Parole and Resentencing Procedures

Stuti S. Kokkalera and Simon I. Singer

III. PLEA BARGAINING

7. Plea Negotiations: An Australian Perspective

Arie Freiberg and Asher Flynn

8. Plea Bargaining in the Shadow of the Trial

Amy Dezember and Allison D. Redlich

9. Estimating the Size of Plea Discounts: Why Does It Matter?

Shi Yan

10. To Plead or Not to Plead? ‘Guilt is the Question. Re-Thinking Plea Decision-Making in Anglo-American Countries

Jay Gormley and Cyrus Tata

IV. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

11. Evolving Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment

Amy L. Anderson, Weng-Fong Chao and Philip Schwadel

12. Disparities in Death Penalty Prosecution and Punishment: A Review of Recent Research

Jeffery T. Ulmer and Lily Hanrath

V. CURRENT CONTROVERSIES

13. Rethinking the Role of Criminal History in Sentencing

Rhys Hester, Richard S. Frase, Julia Laskorunsky and Kelly Lyn Mitchell

14. AB109 in California; Realignment, Decarceration and Crime in Los Angeles County

Katharine Tellis and Cassia Spohn

15. The Problem with Problem-Solving Courts: The Black Box Remains Unopened After Thirty Years

Eileen M. Ahlin and Anne S. Douds

16. Restorative Justice Practices and Challenges in the United States

Jennifer L. Lanterman