NCJ Number
97017
Journal
New York University Review of Law and Social Change Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (1983-1984) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
C O Merriman,
L S Pershan
Date Published
1984
Length
329 pages
Annotation
Eight papers address the search for solutions to the prison crowding crisis: responses and discussions are provided.
Abstract
Issues related to appropriate sentences are examined: the nature of alternatives to incarceration and whether adjusting sentencing standards conforms to or confounds constitutional notions of just and equal punishment. The possibility adopting a predictive model to target and selectively incarcerate those most likely to commit future crimes is discussed. Additionally, strategies that assume continuity in current growth and existing sentencing policies are explored. The political and legal processes of prison expansion are reviewed, and the roles of the departments of corrections, legislatures, local governments, and citizens' commissions in prison expansion are considered. Factors contributing to the increase in prison crowding, including increases in crime, growth of the criminal justice system, and changes in demography, are reported. Four approaches for remedying the problem are delineated. Finally, the status of prisoners' rights litigation in the wake of Bell v. Wolfish and Rhodes v. Chapman is addressed; the prospect is raised that standards of decency may continually be lowered to accommodate growing numbers of prisoners. Approximately 750 references are included.