
Sentencing Fragments
Penal Reform in America, 1975-2025
Michael Tonry(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 18. February 2016
Book
Hardback
316 pages
978-0-19-020468-6 (ISBN)
Description
Sentencing matters. Life, liberty, and property are at stake. Convicted offenders and victims care about it for obvious reasons, while judges and prosecutors also have a moral stake in the process. Never-the-less, the current system of sentencing criminal offenders is in a shambles, with a crazy quilt of incompatible and conflicting laws, policies, and practices in each state, not to mention an entirely different process at the federal level.
In Sentencing Fragments, Michael Tonry traces four decades of American sentencing policy and practice to illuminate the convoluted sentencing system, from early reforms in the mid-1970's to the transition towards harsher sentences in the mid-1980's. The book combines a history of policy with an examination of current research findings regarding the consequences of the sentencing system, calling attention to the devastatingly unjust effects on the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. Tonry concludes with a set of proposals for creating better policies and practices for the future, with the hope of ultimately creating a more just legal system.
Lucid and engaging, Sentencing Fragments sheds a much-needed light on the historical foundation for the current dynamic of the American criminal justice system, while simultaneously offering a useful tool for potential reform.
In Sentencing Fragments, Michael Tonry traces four decades of American sentencing policy and practice to illuminate the convoluted sentencing system, from early reforms in the mid-1970's to the transition towards harsher sentences in the mid-1980's. The book combines a history of policy with an examination of current research findings regarding the consequences of the sentencing system, calling attention to the devastatingly unjust effects on the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. Tonry concludes with a set of proposals for creating better policies and practices for the future, with the hope of ultimately creating a more just legal system.
Lucid and engaging, Sentencing Fragments sheds a much-needed light on the historical foundation for the current dynamic of the American criminal justice system, while simultaneously offering a useful tool for potential reform.
Reviews / Votes
Sentencing Fragments appears as a much-needed dose of critical realism ... Michael Tonry addresses the issues with a clear-eyed expertise and proposes reforms that are to the point, principled and practical. * David Garland, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
6 line art, bw
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
698 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-020468-6 (9780190204686)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2015
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€28.49
Available for download

E-Book
12/2015
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€22.99
Available for download
Person
Michael Tonry is Marvin J. Sonosky Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Minnesota, and Senior Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement at Free University in Amsterdam.
Author
Michael Tonry is McKnight Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and PolicyMichael Tonry is McKnight Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and Policy, University of Minnesota
Content
Preface ; Acknowledgments ; Chapter 1. Sentencing Matters ; Chapter 2. Sentencing Fragments ; Chapter 3. Federal Sentencing ; Chapter 4. Sentencing Theories ; Chapter 5. Sentencing Principles ; Chapter 6. Reinventing Sentencing ; References ; Index