Nicholson-Crotty, S. (2004). The impact of sentencing guidelines on state-level sanctions: An analysis over time. Crime & Delinquency, 50(3), 395-411.
The author of this article takes into consideration the results of previous investigations about mandatory guidelines and their impact on prisoners. The main purpose of the article is to define how the guidelines define the quality of prisoner’s life and can mitigate population in prisons. Using the thoughtful evaluation of the prison population between 1975 and 1998, the writer proves that American prisoners do not feel some considerable changes in their conditions. This is why this article may become solid evidence that mandatory sentencing cannot perform some crucial role in drug laws and influence imprisoning conditions.
The article shows that incarceration rates are considerably increased after new mandatory guidelines are offered (Nicholson-Crotty, 2004), and it seems to be rational to re-evaluate the guidelines identify to change the situation and get the required portion of control in the sphere of drug law. Using real-life examples and statistics, the article becomes a solid source of information that helps to investigate the idea of mandatory sentencing among Americans.
Sorenson, J. & Stemen, D. (2002). The effect of state sentencing policies on incarceration rates. Crime & Delinquency, 48(3), 456-475.
The chosen article is considered to be a reliable source of information about the connection between specific sentences policies and the rates of incarceration and prison admission (Sorensen & Stemen, 2002). The period of the late 1990s is taken into account; the authors not only describe the effects of mandatory sentencing but also analyze the outcomes of such policies observed among the prisoners.
The success of this article is predetermined by the possibility to prove that state policymakers have to pay more attention to such factors as citizen ideology and population personal needs to influence the behavior of prisoners and develop a strategy to evaluate the results of their work. It is not enough to think about possible changes in policies, but it is more important to define the elements which may change the development of the events and define the quality of life among the prisoners in different states of one country.
Luna, E. & Cassell, P.G. (2010). Mandatory minimalism. Cardozo Law Review, 32(1), 1-83.
The peculiar feature of this article is that its authors find it interesting to pay attention to those aspects of mandatory sentencing which may deprive American judges of the possibility to lessen the periods and conditions of punishment due to any facts. The point is that many professionals can define the level of punishment using introducing new circumstances and details. However, the activities of President Obama set the boundaries of lawmakers’ possibilities.
The authors underline that drug laws undergo considerable changes due to the elimination of mandatory minimums. Such changes may influence a prisoner in a variety of ways. The main outcome of the above-mentioned activities is that imprisonment will be striker; however, the offered mandatory minimums will allow shortening sentences for serious offenders using reducing the conditions of the federal criminal code (Luna & Cassell, 2010). In other words, this article proves that mandatory sentencing may have a positive effect on prisoners in case certain conditions and restrictions are taken into account.
Cassell, P.G. (2004). Too sever? A defense of the federal sentencing guidelines. Stanford Law Review, 56(5), 1017-1073.
In this article, the author conducts deep research to understand the true essence of federal sentencing, cost of crime, and mandatory minimums which have been identified as superfluous. One of the most captivating and powerful claims made by the researcher is the fact mandatory minimums have to be reconsidered (Cassell, 2004) paying more attention to drug quantities. In the article, it is evaluated how it is necessary to generate all types of disproportionate shares that are based on federal sentences.
The idea to determinate sentencing structure contradicts the already offered idea of rehabilitation, still, it is necessary to provide prisoners with a chance to change the length of sentences. This article will help to understand how mandatory sentencing and guidelines will influence prisoners and improve the conditions under which people of all types of crimes are to be treated and accepted by society. Drug law is a sphere full of contradictions, and this article aims at elaborating misunderstandings using evident statistical data and personal attitude to the problem.
Weinstein, I. (2003). Fifteen years after the federal sentencing revolution: How mandatory minimums have undermined effective and just narcotics sentencing. American Criminal Law Review, 40(1), 87-132.
The article under consideration is devoted to the theme of federal criminal sentencing and the conditions under which prisoners have existed since 1988. First of all, the author evaluates the sentencing reforms during the 1980s to identify how they helped to solve the problems. However, the results show that constant limitations and statutory maximums prevent the governments from defining clear and effective conditions, this is why it was necessary to elaborate another plan that enforces drug law considerably. It is not that easy to roll back mandatory minimum sentences (Weinstein, 2003), still, it is possible to restore the existed juridical authority and improve the conditions for prisoners.
The worth of this article lies in the fact that some shifts are possible in case the law compels prosecutors to take precautionary steps and achieve the desirable justice. Drug law is the sphere that may be changed for the better; still, mandatory sentencing is not the most effective way to decrease the rates of drug crimes.