Exploring Sentencing:
Sentencing Theory and Practice in Contemporary Criminal Justice
Call for Papers
The sentencing of offenders and judicial decision-making in that area are complex processes influenced by a multitude of factors intended to achieve various purposes and evaluated according to different, often controversial criteria. The factors that influence sentencing and evaluations of its effectiveness begin with penal ideologies on punishment and its purposes, usually translated into more detailed principles related to sentencing. Those ideologies commonly stem from the traditional contrast between the retributive stance of repaying the offender for the wrongdoing with penalties proportionate to the offence and a utilitarian or consequentialist emphasis on preventing future crimes and reoffending. Moreover, there have been various attempts to bring the two frameworks together in a constructive way, or to break the mould entirely and look at other punishment rationales. Those penal ideologies may have an enormous impact on sentencing decisions, and changes to them may radically reshape sentencing outcomes.