Proposal for a New Correctional System - Correction by Restitution (From Prisoners and the Law, P 20-3 to 20-14, 1985, by Ira P Robbins, ed. - See NCJ-100564)

• NCJ Number: 100579
• Author(s): D J Young
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Clark Boardman Company, Ltd
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The corrections system should make restitution its major objective; imprisonment, with some exceptions, would be ancillary to this major objective.

Abstract

One problem in making restitution the major objective within a prison context is providing a more extensive system of penal industry that will permit inmates to earn restitutionary payments. Other problems are that many crimes require more than restitution as a satisfactory state response, and incapacitation is often required to protect the public from dangerous offenders. The proposal to shift the corrections system toward a restitution orientation would involve the development of presentence reports that state the amount and kind of restitution to be made, as well as the procedure for making restitution. Should the sentence include imprisonment, the inmate would be given a thorough physical and needed medical treatment, followed by classification for work or training. Inmates in educational or training programs would receive compensation on the same basis as those in industrial programs. The first stage of implementing the proposal would involve determining if it is feasible and then casting the detailed proposal into legislation. The second stage would mount a program to secure passage of the legislation. 20 notes.