Public Opinion, Criminal Record, and the Sentencing Process

An offender's criminal record is a powerful determinant of sentence severity in almost all criminal justice systems. State and federal sentencing guidelines accord a central role to criminal record, which is the second most important factor after crime seriousness. As well, most states have rec...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American behavioral scientist (Beverly Hills) 1996-02, Vol.39 (4), p.488-499
Main Author: ROBERTS, JULIAN V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Convictions
Crime
Criminal justice
Criminal justice, Administration of
Criminal law
Criminal records
Criminal registers
Criminal sentences
Ex-convicts
Factors
Habitual offenders
Imprisonment
Legal systems
Legislation
Offenders
Polls & surveys
Public opinion
Punishment
Recidivism
Recidivists
Sentences
Sentences (Criminal procedure)
Sentencing
Social research
U.S.A
Violence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:An offender's criminal record is a powerful determinant of sentence severity in almost all criminal justice systems. State and federal sentencing guidelines accord a central role to criminal record, which is the second most important factor after crime seriousness. As well, most states have recidivist statutes such as “three strikes and you're out,” which prescribe swinging penalties for recidivist offenders. Although a great deal of research has examined public perceptions of sentencing and crime seriousness, little work has addressed the question of public support for criminal record as an aggravating factor in the sentencing process. This article reviews the limited research on this question. It would appear that the public supports a limited use of criminal history information, although there is little public enthusiasm for statutes or guidelines that impose sentences the severity of which clearly violates principles of desert.
ISSN:0002-7642
1552-3381
DOI:10.1177/0002764296039004011