November 2003

Positive Trends in State-Level Sentencing and Corrections Policy

Incarceration rates are at an all-time high, and state budgets are more constrained than during any period since the beginning of the United States prison-construction boom in the late 1970s and 1980s. One of the driving forces behind these problems are mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed by the U.S. Congress and many state legislatures that force judges to give lengthy, fixed prison terms to those convicted of specific crimes, especially those that are drug-related, without concern for mitigating factors such as the degree to which the accused may have been involved in the crime or the potential for rehabilitation. These laws contribute to the explosion in U.S. incarceration, with a disproportionate impact on low-income families and communities of color. Now state-level policymakers are scrambling for information and ideas to help them better manage correctional resources.