NCJ Number
100508
Date Published
1985
Length
320 pages
Annotation
This comprehensive plan for sentencing reform in New York State structures judicial sentencing discretion, institutes determinate sentencing, and phases out parole release.
Abstract
The proposed determinate sentencing system, implemented through presumptive sentencing guidelines, is intended to eliminate the disparity and uncertainty produced by current indeterminate sentencing. The phasing out of parole release consolidates the sentencing function in the sentencing court, such that the sentence imposed will be the sentence served (subject only to ''good time' credit allowances). This will preclude courts' having to inflate sentences to compensate for the possibility of early parole release. The committee recommends an appellate review procedure accessible to both defendants and the State to determine whether the sentences imposed conform to the guidelines or the special departure rules. The report recommends that the committee be authorized to review the guidelines periodically, assess their impact on the criminal justice system, and recommend revisions if necessary. In simulating the impact of the guidelines on State prison populations, the committee concludes inmate growth rates will be similar to those under the current system. Appendixes contain the statute establishing the committee, the guidelines matrix, and a draft of the proposed law.