Explanation:
The past 30 years have seen enormous changes in the philosophy and practice of sentencing and
corrections. The strong emphasis on rehabilitation that existed for the first seven decades of the 20th
century gave way in the 1970s to a focus on fairness and justice, by which sentences reflected “just
deserts” rather than a utilitarian motive. Sentencing practices later moved toward a crime-control model
that emphasized incarceration as a way to reduce crime in the community; this crime-control model
became increasingly popular during the 1980s and 1990s. Discussion of sentencing and corrections in
the 21st century must begin with a review of these changes and their impact on the criminal justice
system.
The historical changes in sentencing and corrections policies and practices can be characterized, in part,
by the emphasis on different goals. Four major goals are usually attributed to the sentencing process:
retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation. Retribution refers to just deserts: people who
break the law deserve to be punished. The other three goals are utilitarian, emphasizing methods to
protect the public. They differ, however, in the mechanism expected to provide public safety.
Deterrence emphasizes the onerousness of punishment; offenders are deterred from committing crimes
because of a rational calculation that the cost of punishment is too great. The punishment is so
repugnant that neither the punished offender (specific deterrence) nor others (general deterrence)
commit crimes in the future. Incapacitation deprives people of the capacity to commit crimes because
they are physically detained in prison. Rehabilitation attempts to modify offenders’ behavior and
thinking so they do not continue to commit crimes. Although sentences frequently address several of
these goals in practice, the emphasis on which goal is the highest priority has changed dramatically in the
past 30 years.
At the same time the goals of punishment have been changing, the number of people in the United
States who are under correctional supervision has increased enormously. Changes in the practice and
philosophy of sentencing and corrections have clearly had a major impact on incarceration rates.
However, there is no consensus on what, specifically, has caused the changes, the impact of the
changes, or their intended and unintended consequences. This paper explores these issues.
