ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the unified theory is not only possible but that it is most compelling and best able to address the complexity of criminal cases and deliver multiple benefits in a measure and evidence way, providing a new way of expanding restorative practices, too. The biggest influence on sentencing in the United States, Canada and, to some degree, England and Wales and elsewhere is the Model Penal Code. The Code was originally published in 1962 by the American Law Institute to solve a problem. The argument is that criminal code has changed significantly since the 1960s and again since the 1980s. Standard examples include the omission of various drug offences from the Code and changes to the law that have criminalized marital rape. Critics claim that these changes call for a fundamental rethinking of the Model Penal Code and require people to abandon the existing Code. Laws are necessary for the continuation of any political community.
