Determinate Sentencing

Abstract

Determinate sentencing, based on fixed or flat sentences, reemerged in the late 1970s to enhance punishment and limit disparity in punishment by limiting the discretion of judges, as well as prison and parole authorities, in the United States. New sentencing guidelines, established by legislatures throughout the country, often replaced indeterminate sentences with mandatory fixed sentences for many felony offenses. Mandatory sentences, three‐strike laws, and truth in sentencing are often associated with determinate sentencing. Despite the benefits of determinate sentencing, it is not without controversy. For example, there is evidence some measures were unconstitutional and that determinate sentences caused severe overcrowding in prison systems throughout the United States.