Over the past 50 years, there have been significant changes in the philosophy as well as practice of sentencing and corrections. Initially, there was a strong emphasis on a rehabilitative rationale that promoted utilitarian goals and greater focus on the offender from the beginning of the 20 th century running to seven decades. Later, focus shifted to a “just deserts” rationale whereby the focus was more on retributive concerns as well as the nature of the offense (Petersilia & Oxford University Press, 2015). Sentencing models adopted a crime control model which emphasized on incarceration, aimed at controlling the rate of crime within the community, a model which became popular in 1980s and 90s. These changes have had profound effects on the criminal justice system.
The first change regards sentencing. In the past, there was a widespread use of indeterminate sentencing. Nowadays, however, there lacks a standard approach in sentencing and correction. Secondly, there is a great limitation to the individualization of sentences as well as court and correctional discretion by the introduction of mandatory minimum statutes which remove the autonomy to impose a sentence that is below the state minimum. Thirdly, there was the introduction of the “Three Strikes Laws” to address the issue of repeat offenders which emerged in the 1909s with differing application across states. These laws passed increasingly tougher sentences for repeat offenders. Fourthly, the use of parole boards for discretionary prison releases greatly changed to the adoption of mandatory releases which were not determined by parole boards. Fifthly, decision making has greatly changed as politicians are more directly involved in engaging in sentencing decisions that influence operations. Sixthly, crowding in prisons has widely increased due to reduced discretion for the criminal justice system to use early release mechanisms. Lastly, behavioral, social and cultural changes have also impacted on corrections. Such changes include the increasing consumption of illegal drugs, diseases, and the aging population ( Petersilia & Reitz, 2015 ).
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One of the sentencing philosophies that have had the greatest impact on correction is the application of the “three strikes laws”. Varying applications of the law on repeat offenders has had a significant impact on the criminal justice system. Repeat offenders receive increasingly severe criminal sanctions with each conviction. At the third conviction, they are either considered out of prison or in prison for life. These laws regard each conviction for a felony as another strike, imposing more severe penalties in subsequent convictions. This has led to the establishment of increasingly tougher sentences that translate to more rigid sentencing statutes. 30 states had already introduced “three strikes” legislation while 10 passed more serious sentences for repeat offender by 1994 (Mackenzie, 2000). By the year 1997, twenty-four states had followed suit. The seriousness of this change can be reflected upon how prison crowding has become a serious issue. These laws have led to an increasing lack of discretion in passing sentence and thus, leading to greater populations within prisons, which could otherwise be minimized by maintain the past legislations which promoted early releases.
The changes in philosophies can be characterized by the varying degrees of emphasis placed on different goals (Mackenzie, 2000). The four major goals are in respect to the sentencing process and include rehabilitation, retribution, incapacitation, and deterrence. Sentencing is carried out to address several of these goals but the emphasis on these goals has drastically changed over the past 50 years. These changes have affected the criminal justice system with decisions transforming correctional populations.
References
Mackenzie, D.L. (2000). Sentencing and Correction in the 21 st Century: Setting the Stage for the Future. University of Maryland.
Petersilia, J & Reitz, K. R. (2015). The Oxford handbook of sentencing and corrections . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
