sentencing reform
Criminal justice revision
Sentencing reform refers to efforts to change how criminal punishments are determined and applied, typically aimed at reducing harsh penalties, mandatory minimums, or racial disparities in the justice system.
The term spans the political spectrum—conservatives may emphasize cost savings and rehabilitation, liberals focus on equity and mass incarceration: The bipartisan sentencing reform bill passed with unusual support from both parties.
- paroleConditional early release
- parole eligibilityQualification for supervised freedom
- good behavior creditSentence reduction for compliance
- time servedPeriod already imprisoned
- restorative justiceConflict resolution through mutual healing
three strikes law · probation programs · proportionality · first-time offender · sentencing guidelines · judicial discretion · plea bargaining · racial disparities · clemency · community reintegration · mental health courts · alternative sentencing · drug courts · systemic bias · victim advocacy · recidivism · decriminalization · nonviolent
- reformreformer, reformist, democratic reforms, structural change, overhaul
- penologypenology, prisons, incarceration, parole board, prison
- decriminalizationlegalization, drug policy, liberalization, expungement, pardons
- drug policynarcotics, drug enforcement, drug policy, decriminalization, cannabis legalization
- judicial reformjudicial independence, judicial appointments, judicial conduct, judicial ethics, court procedure
- legal historylegal history, medieval law, Roman law, Roman jurisprudence, common law
sentencing reformmandatory minimums
Legally required base sentences
three-strikes laws · zero-tolerance policies · mass incarceration
sentencing reformstatus quo
Existing condition of affairs
mandatory minimums · tough on crime · law and order · established practice