Home/
Failed Promise of Sentencing Reform
Failed Promise of Sentencing Reform
No customer reviews yet
ISBN 9781440840876
Despite 15 years of reform efforts, the incarceration rate in the United States remains unprecedentedly high. This book provides the first comprehensive survey of these reforms and explains why they have proven to be ineffective.
After many decades of stability, the imprisonment rate in the United States quintupled between 1973 and 2003. Since then, nearly all states have adopted multiple reforms intended to reduce imprisonment, but the U.S. imprisonment rate has only decreased by a paltry 2 percent. Why have American sentencing reforms since 2000 been largely ineffective? Are tough mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders the primary reason our prisons are always full? This book offers a fascinating assessment of the wave of sentencing reforms adopted by dozens of states as well as changes at the federal level since 2000, identifying common themes among seemingly disparate changes in sentencing policy and highlighting recent reform efforts that have been more successful and may point the way forward for the nation as a whole.
In The Failed Promise of Sentencing Reform, Michael O'Hear exposes the myths that American prison sentencing reforms enacted in the 21st century have failed to have the expected effect because U.S. prisons are filled to capacity with nonviolent drug offenders as a result of the "war on drugs" or because of new laws that took away the discretion of judges and corrections officials. O'Hear then makes a convincing case for the real reasons sentencing reforms have come up short: because they exclude violent and sexual offenders, and because they rely on the discretion of officials who still have every incentive to be highly risk-averse. He also highlights how overlooking the well-being of offenders and their families in our consideration of sentencing reform has undermined efforts to effect real change.
About the author
Product details
Pub dateMar 20, 2017
ISBN-101440840873
ISBN-139781440840876
LanguageEnglish
Last updated 2026-03-17 11:41
$83.46
In stock — ships in 24 hours with free tracking
Delivery by Monday, October 12, 2026
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Fast checkout
Pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay when available.
Payment received
We are registering your order now. Please stay on this page while we redirect you to the confirmation page.
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.
Readers who bought this also bought
More from Criminal Law - Sentencing