Combining the latest work of leading sentencing and punishment scholars from twelve different countries, this major new international volume answers key questions in the study of sentencing and society. It presents not only a rigorous examination of the latest legal and empirical research from around the world, but also reveals the workings of sentencing within society and as a social practice. Traditionally, work in the field of sentencing has been dominated by legal and philosophical approaches. Distinctively, this volume provides a more sociological approach to sentencing: so allowing previously unanswered questions to be addressed and new questions to be opened. This extensive collection is drawn from around one third of the papers presented at the First International Conference on Sentencing and Society. Almost without exception, the chapters have been revised, cross-referenced and updated. The overall themes and findings of the international volume are set out by the opening "Introduction" and the closing "Reflections" chapters. Research findings on particular penal policy questions are balanced with an analysis of fundamental conceptual issues, making this international volume essential reading for: sentencing and punishment scholars, criminal justice policy-makers, and graduate students.
Contents: Introduction: so what does 'and society' mean?, Cyrus Tata. The International Movement Towards Transparency and 'Truth in Sentencing': Getting tough on crime: the history and political context of sentencing reform developments leading to the passage of the crime act, Judith Greene; A sentencing matrix for Western Australia: accountability and transparency or smoke and mirrors?, Neil Morgan; Mandatory sentences: a conundrum for the new South Africa?, Dirk van Zyl Smit; Are guided sentencing and sentence bargaining incompatible? perspectives of reform in the Italian legal system, Grazia Mannozzi; Legizlation and practice of sentencing in China, Liling Yue; Sentencing reform in Canada: who cares about corrections?, Mary E. Campbell. The Truth About Public and Victim Punitiveness: What do we Know and What do we Need to Know?: Public knowledge and public opinion of sentencing, Mike Hough and Julian V. Roberts; Crisis and contradictions in a state sentencing structure, B. Keith Crew, Gene M. Lutz and Kristine Fahrney; Harsher is not necessarily better: victim satisfaction with sentences imposed under a 'truth in sentencing' law, Candice McCoy and Patrick J. McManimon Jr. Measuring Punishment - Conceptual and Practical Problems and Resolutions: European sentencing traditions: accepting divergence or aiming for convergence? Andrew Ashworth; What's it worth? a cross-jurisdictional comparison of sentence severity, Arie Frieberg; Sentencing burglars in England and Finland: a pilot study, Malcolm Davies, Jukka-Pekka Takala and Jane Tyrer; A new look at sentence severity, Brian J. Ostrom and Charles W. Ostrom Jr; Desert and the punitiveness of imprisonment, Gavin Dingwall and Christopher Harding; The science of sentencing: measurement theory and von Hirsch's new scales of justice, Julia Davis; Scaling punishments: a reply to Julia Davis, Andrew von Hirsch; Scaling punishments: a response to von Hirsch, Julia Davis. Reason-Giving and Approaches to Expl
