ABSTRACT

A major purpose of structured sentencing schemes is to reduce unwarranted sentencing disparity. In contrast to indeterminate sentencing where judges and parole boards maintain wide discretion in determining criminal punishment, structured sentencing schemes limit or structure the discretion of the judiciary in imposing criminal sanctions. Several state sentencing commissions examined the impact of presumptive sentencing guidelines on unwarranted disparity with regard to race and gender. Sentencing disparity that springs from such legal characteristics is considered warranted disparity. Unwarranted sentencing disparity arises when extra-legal factors, say, race, class, or gender, influence the sentencing outcome. Research assessing the impact of voluntary or descriptive sentencing guidelines on unwarranted disparity is less common. Racial disparity in imprisonment appears to be largely explained by disproportional involvement of minorities in crime at the national level. A sentence outcome consists of two separate decisions: the decision whether to incarcerate and the decision as to the length of incarceration.