Sentencing is among the most complicated issues in criminal justice, as there are different perspectives on this phenomenon. For instance, for the public, it is a punishment that is imposed after the conviction. In view of the legislature, these punishments differ according to the differences in offenses. However, the challenge with understanding sentencing is that it evolved over time, so this area of justice has undergone numerous vital changes. The chapter under consideration reviewed the evolution of sentencing in the United States with the focus on sentencing models and types of sentences.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, federal and state criminal justice systems gave preference to the so-called medical model also known as rehabilitative. It is based on the belief that the fear of losing freedom due to being incarcerated can affect criminal behavior, especially when combined with rehabilitation (Belbot 82). For this reason, the main stress was made on rehabilitation, so individual needs and risks were the ground for offender sentencing. That is why there was a wide range of sentences with significant differences in the terms of sentences. However, this model was criticized because the rehabilitation seemed to be ineffective. As a result, the sentencing policy has been dramatically changed at the end of the 1970s. The main change was the fragmentation among the states, as some of them adopted the presumptive sentence, while the rest preferred either voluntary guideline or presumptive sentencing.

The main differences between the two came down to differently assessing the weight of a criminal history and varying strictness of adherence to guidelines (Belbot 85-86). To develop the guidelines, sentencing commissions were created, but not all jurisdictions created them and not all sentencing commission offered these guidelines. During this period, almost all jurisdictions abolished discretionary parole release (Belbot 87). In the evolution of sentencing, one more development should be considered – the passage of mandatory minimum sentences that were determined by the federal government (Belbot 87).

Over the years of sentencing evolution, there were several notable trends, such as the overall increase in the time served, a tremendous fragmentation among jurisdictions, and the shift from indeterminate sentencing to determinacy. The latter, however, has not been consistent across the country, so it contributed to the higher rates of fragmentation that is still significant in the modern criminal justice system. These trends could not but affect the correctional system. The impacts were the following: increase in the incarceration rate (although the initial objective of the changes was to decrease it), the massive build-up in the system, and the growth of prison population due to the implementation of the mandatory minimum sentences (Belbot 90-93). These developments pointed to the necessity of reviewing and the further reform of the correctional system, with the shift to favoring presumptive guidelines and increasing their flexibility (Belbot 95). It is necessary for decreasing the overall prison population that is not necessarily connected with the increase in crime rates, but, on the other hand, results from the strictness of the correctional system.

All in all, this chapter is a valuable source for understanding the main trends in the evolution of sentencing and the correctional system of the United States. In a clear and concise manner, the author managed to provide a detailed overview of the main changes that have been witnessed during the twentieth century as well as offer the ways to improve it and decrease the overall prison population. The main strength of the chapter is the incorporation of research results and findings, which makes the arguments and recommendations more persuasive as well as improves the overall quality of viewpoints expressed.