ABSTRACT
Two contrasting images of the public emerge from the literature on public attitudes toward punishment in the United States. On the one hand, several findings support the idea of a punitive public that demands long prison terms. According to national opinion polls around the globe, the public believes that, in general, courts are too lenient in their sentencing patterns (for a review see Roberts and Stalans, 1997). Surveys addressing specific issues indicate that the public supports life in prison without parole for offenders that have committed three violent felony crimes, and supports the death penalty for premeditated heinous murder (Applegate et al., 1996; Roberts and Stalans, 1997). The public also favours the imposition of prison for burglary and robbery offenders (Turner et al., 1997). The public also agrees with the United States federal sentencing guidelines on most offences, and wants longer prison terms than the guidelines allow for drug dealers who use violence (Rossi and Berk, 1997).
