Interestingly, females tend to receive lesser sentences than males, although that disparity disappears in crimes that are more serious. These characteristics show themselves in state courts, too, which indicates that disparity and discrimination still exist despite the sentence reforms that were supposed to do away with them.
It seems that sentences are actually harsher now than when sentencing reforms were first created, and that people expect harsher penalties for those convicted of crimes. In addition, although a few studies contradict this, there is still quite a bit of discrimination and disparity in the American judicial system on all levels. In addition, the CJ system seems to be less interested in reform and more interested in punishment today, and that may reflect the public's attitudes about criminal justice and the prison system.
Ultimately, the creators hoped that sentence reforms would create less...
Most studies indicate this is not really the case in the criminal justice system today. There is still disparity in how men, women, and ethnic offenders are handled in the system, and crime has not really been reduced, especially when compared with the number of prisoners incarcerated 30 years ago compared with the number today. Sentencing reforms seem to be a good idea that have not worked out, and if America's prisons are really going to work, new sentencing reforms and models need to be created. The ultimate goal of the judicial and prison systems are to punish offenders, but they also need alternatives so they do not commit crimes when they are released from prison, and that is not being addressed as much as it needs to be.
References
Sponn, Cassia. How Judges Decide? Second Edition 299-315.
