ABSTRACT
As was noted at the start of this book, nearly three decades ago sentencing law was described as a wasteland in the law.1 Unfortunately, not much has changed. The rudimentary state of sentencing law is reflected by the fact that jurisdictions such as Australia and the UK pursue a contradictory mix of objectives, without attempting to prioritise them. Many parts of the US adopt a far more pointed approach to sentencing. However, this is generally result driven (with the aim being simply to imprison more offenders for longer periods), as opposed to being guided by a rationale for sentencing. The reason for this unsatisfactory state of affairs is the failure of legislatures and courts to adopt a coherent justification for punishment.
