Sentencing Fragments

Michael Tonry traces four decades of American sentencing policy and practice to illuminate the convoluted sentencing system, from early reforms in the mid-1970's to the transition towards harsher sentences in the mid-1980's. Combining a history of policy with an examination of current research findings regarding the consequences of the sentencing system, Sentencing Fragments calls attention to its devastatingly unjust effects on the lives of the poor and disadvantaged.