1. Sentencing and Modern reform: the process of punishment
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Chapter 1: An Overview of Sentencing in the United States

2. Chapter objectives
To understand the considerable variation in states’ sentencing practices.
To learn what is meant by the terms “indeterminate sentencing,” “determinate sentencing,” “ mandatory minimum sentencing laws,” “truth-in-sentencing,” and “three strikes laws.”
To gain an overview of the population under correctional supervision in the United States.
To grasp the fundamentals of various sentencing goals of corrections and differentiate them in terms of their assumptions about crime causation.
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3. Sentencing: The Link Between Courts and Corrections
The process of sentencing begins after an offender has been found guilty in criminal court or pleads guilty to a crime.
Sentencing links two stages of the criminal case processing— courts and corrections.
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4. Sentencing: The Link Between Courts and Corrections--continued
The actions of other criminal justice actors lead up to the sentencing stage.
Police
Prosecutors
Defense attorneys
Judge
Jury
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5. Sentencing: The Link Between Courts and Corrections--continued
The process of sentencing varies considerably among states and the federal system.
Some states give judges broad discretion in imposing a sentence in terms of sentence type (incarceration or community based sentences) and sentence length.
Other states use sentencing guidelines schemes that involve the mathematical calculations of offense severity, prior record and aggravating and mitigating factors to place the offender in a grid cell that defines the type and length of the sentence. In these states, the judge has limited discretion.
Copyright © 2016 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

6. Sentencing: The Link Between Courts and Corrections--continued
Clearly, there is no “American” sentencing system.
Every state, Washington, D.C., and the federal system is different in the way it sentences offenders.
Even states that have sentencing guidelines vary in important ways.
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7. Hypothetical case
Consider the case of Justin, who committed a horrific crime— forcible rape on October l 1, Justin, age 35, walked around a park around sunset one early fall night with one purpose—to find a victim. Justin’s violence was fueled by a hatred of women. He decided that night in a fit of anger that he was going to look for a woman who was alone, hold a gun to her head and rape her. And that night, Justin did what he set out to do—he committed a forcible rape of a 25-year-old woman.
What Justin did not know was that a passerby witnessed part of the crime and called the police. The police responded quickly and apprehended Justin at the far end of the park after they attended to the victim. Both the victim and the witness identified Justin. After a jury trial, Justin was convicted of forcible rape. Justin has a prior felony conviction for first degree burglary 5 years ago.
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8. A Comparison of Sentencing in Four States
There are differences between states in sentencing an individual convicted of the same crime.
Note that even the designation of the crime—whether it’s defined as an “aggravated sexual assault” or a “first degree rape” or some other term, varies by state.
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9. Comparing sentencing in states
Let’s now take a look at sentencing procedures followed in four different states:
Texas—Crime labeled “aggravated sexual assault.” Indeterminate sentencing.
South Carolina—Crime labeled “criminal sexual assault in the first degree.” Class A felony, Maximum terms indicated for each felony class
North Carolina—Crime labeled “first degree rape.” Commission- based sentencing guidelines determine sentence.
Ohio—Crime labeled “rape” in Ohio, a first degree felony. Guidelines indicate a range of prison terms for each category of felony.
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10. Minimums and maximums
The minimum sentence length for the hypothetical case varies by state:
In North Carolina, the minimum sentence would depend on prior record, but in our scenario—with one prior conviction—would hover between approximately years.
South Carolina does not indicate a minimum sentence, but sets the maximum at “no more than thirty years.”
In Ohio, the minimum is 5 years and the maximum is 11 years.
The maximum sentence in Texas for the described crime is 99 years. The minimum is 15 years.
Clearly there is no “typical” sentence for forcible rape in the United States.
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11. The full set of PowerPoint slides is available upon adoption
The full set of PowerPoint slides is available upon adoption. for more information.
Copyright © 2016 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.