Handbook on Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century: (The ASC Division on Corrections & Sentencing Handbook Series)

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; PART I. THE EVOLUTION OF SENTENCING POLICIES AND PRACTICES; 1. The Transformation of Sentencing in the 21st Century; 2. Sentencing Guidelines in the U.S.; 3. Sentencing Guidelines Outside the United States; PART 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; 5. Minimum Sentencing for Serious Offences: Lessons from Australia; 6. Discretionary Release Practices for Juveniles Facing Life: A Review of State Parole and Resentencing Procedures; PART III. PLEA BARGAINING; 7. Plea Negotiations: An Australian Perspective; 8. Plea Bargaining in the Shadow of the Trial; 9. Estimating the Size of Plea Discounts: Why Does It Matter?; 10. To Plead or Not to Plead? ‘Guilt is the Question. Re-Thinking Plea Decision-Making in Anglo-American Countries; PART IV. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; 11. Evolving Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment; 12. Disparities in Death Penalty Prosecution and Punishment: A Review of Recent Research; PART V. CURRENT CONTROVERSIES; 13. Rethinking the Role of Criminal History in Sentencing; 14. AB109 in California; Realignment, Decarceration and Crime in Los Angeles County; 15. The Problem with Problem-Solving Courts: The Black Box Remains Unopened After Thirty Years; 16. Restorative Justice Practices and Challenges in the United States

About the Author :
Cassia Spohn is a Foundation Professor and Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology, a Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and a Fellow of the Western Society of Criminology. Her research interests include prosecutorial and judicial decision making, the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, crime and justice, and sexual assault case processing decisions. Pauline K. Brennan is a Professor and the Ph.D. Program Director for the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research focuses on racial and gender inequities in court processing, corrections policy, and issues related to female offenders and victims. Her work has appeared in the top journals in the field, including Justice Quarterly, The Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and Criminal Justice and Behavior.