E. Wolf et M. Weissman, REVISING FEDERAL SENTENCING POLICY - SOME CONSEQUENCES OF EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY FOR ALTERNATIVE SANCTIONS, Crime and delinquency, 42(2), 1996, pp. 192-205
Although the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 advocated the use of ''leas
t restrictive alternatives,'' the U.S Sentencing Commission has devise
d guidelines that authorize prison for all felony convictions. Noninca
rcerative sentences are available for low-level offenders, but researc
h has shown that the use of probation and other alternative sanctions
has declined since the full-scale adoption of the guidelines in 1989.
Applying criteria for imposing sentences of imprisonment adopted by th
e National Council on Crime and Delinquency to U.S. Sentencing Commiss
ion data from 1992 and 1993, we show that a large number of cases in t
he federal caseload that were considered ineligible for nonincarcerati
ve sanctions may merit ''a second look'' and be considered for alterna
tive sentences.