This shift of power has not proven to be a deterrent in sentencing disparities but instead has caused a negative impact on the American criminal justice system and should be amended to place some sentencing discretion back into the hands of the judge. There are currently two bills with bipartisan support that are under consideration and are attempting to help support the reforming of current sentencing policy: the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, which would apply to all federal mandatory minimums, and the Smarter Sentencing Act, which would apply to federal mandatory minimums for only drug offenses (Bernick & Larkin, 2014)
Being incarcerated strips the offender of many liberties and of most of his or her ability to interact with society as a whole. When separated from society, criminals are unable to benefit from the vulnerability or weaknesses of others that contributed to their criminal behavior (Canteen, 2005)
Also, gangs have a significant amount of sway in prison populations and many of the same laws in regards to racketeering and conspiracy that individual gang members may have been convicted for are routinely transgressed inside the walls of prisons. Conclusion and Future Study Removing the power of discretion from judicial hands and handing it to the executive branch essentially converts federal prosecutors into de facto sentencers (Cassell & Luna, 2011)
"We now spend about $6.4 billion a year on federal prisons, about a quarter of the Justice Department's entire budget" [You should really identify the speaker of this quote here](Leahy & Garza, 2014)
Incorporating more sentencing options for judges to utilize will also allow for more discretion that in turn can reduce dissention felt when unduly harsh sentences are rendered. Including the effects of "targeted social interventions, such as expanded preschool programming, substance abuse treatment, or improving high school graduation rates" (Mauer, 2010) in future studies of deterrence and crime reduction could render a more accurate picture than just focusing on sentencing alone
There are currently two bills with bipartisan support that are under consideration and are attempting to help support the reforming of current sentencing policy: the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, which would apply to all federal mandatory minimums, and the Smarter Sentencing Act, which would apply to federal mandatory minimums for only drug offenses (Bernick & Larkin, 2014). The Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 would place some sentencing leniency at the judge's discretion when it is deemed that public safety would not be placed in jeopardy (Wing, 2013)
The reforms identify "no-prison" felonies, alternatives to custody, a more generous credit system and those with shorter sentences serving in county jails (CCN). A major prison reform law, introduced by Senator Brad Ashforf of Omaha, was Nebraska's response to this problem (Kintner, 2014)
This continuously deteriorating situation calls for prompt but inexpensive intervention and application of effective methods to reduce overcrowding (Howard). Overview While the rate of violent crime fell in the last decade and a half, 2011 crime statistics say that 14,500 people were murdered that year alone, largely by gun fire (Mangino, 2012)
Its four summarized points are to computer-track paroled prisoners, release of prisoners who have served 80% of their sentence, locate areas with shortage of legal practitioners, and a justice reinvestment working group to cooperate with the state government on reducing prison population (Kintner). Carbon County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein discussed the benefits of certain measures to bring down the inmate population in their locality with the county prison board (Miller, 2014)
For instance, Nicholson-Crotty (2004) maintains that the need to reduce costs and alleviate overcrowding represent important components of the political rhetoric used to justify privatization policies. Likewise, Hawaii, just as many other states, currently exports its prisoners to private prisons out of state because of prison overcrowding in its own state (Coyle, Campbell & Neufeld, 2003)
5 billion in construction and additional operating expenses (Public Safety Performance Project, 2007). This level of growth represent a significant threat to the several states' ability to pursue strategies that reduce recidivism and improve public safety (Garland)
76 million in 1995 to 4.95 million in 2005, adding more than a million potential individuals for revocation and incarceration (Hughes)
This refers to confinement in a state or federal correctional facility to serve a sentence of more than 1 year, although in some jurisdictions the length of sentence which results in prison confinement is longer (Bureau of Justice, 2008). Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature Today, the United States has the world's largest prison system, but it also has the world's highest rate of incarceration, estimated to be the highest rate historically of any society except slave-holding societies (Hunt, 2007)
Consequently, parole violators, as a share of all prison admissions, increased from 17% in 1980 to 35% in 1999 (Garland, 2007). The need for less restrictive parole policies could help relieve prison overcrowding (Kunselman & Johnson, 2004)
Chapter 3: Methodology Description of the Study Approach The study approach used by this study consisted of a critical review of the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and governmental literature concerning prison overcrowding in general and its impact on the incidence of inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff violence in particular. This approach is consistent with a number of social researchers who advise that a review of the relevant literature is an essential step in almost any type of research project today (Neuman, 2003)
108). According to this author, the advantages of parole release discretion frequently include the following: An agency with such authority can: predict with reasonable accuracy an individual prisoner's likelihood of reoffending (this can be restated in terms of the board's ability to discern when a prisoner has been rehabilitated); Provide incentives to many prisoners to behave well in confinement and to participate seriously in prison-based programs, thus making their rehabilitation more probable; Mitigate harsh pronounced sentences in individual cases and act overall as a force in favor of lenity in sentencing; Facilitate prison population control in times of institutional overcrowding; and, Reduce disparities in sentences imposed by trial judges (Tonry, 2004)
6). This increase in prison population started to reverse itself during the latter part of the past decade, even before the extent of the economic downturn became apparent and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 compelled Americans to reevaluate national priorities (Weedon)
The chances for inmates to take part in rehabilitative and self-development activities, such as educational, employment and professional training are held back. The shortage of job or job opportunities result to prisoner idleness, often supporting the saying that idleness breeds unwanted and disruptive mannerisms (Cox, Paulus, & McCain, 1984, p
It has been proven that people discuss private matters more openly in such "softly" furnished settings than in a "hard" one with bare floors and walls and hard chairs. Building housing units which holds five or six inmates can alleviate the problems usually associated with clanging cell doors and the general bustle of 40 or 50 inmates living in a cell unit (Johnston, 1991, p
Reducing the Incarcerated Population it is not realistic to expect to solve overcrowding problems solely through the construction of more and newer facilities. One researcher puts it that the financial realities of trying to build our way out of the correctional crisis makes today's fiscal conservatives sound like yesterday's rehabilitationists (Rosenfeld & Kempf, 1991, p