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The impact of state sentencing policies on the U.S. prison population

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  • Zhang, Yan
  • Maxwell, Christopher D.
  • Vaughn, Michael S.

Abstract

This article examines the aggregate effects of neoclassical sentencing reforms on three often contested outcomes of these reforms. The rate of new court commitments, the average length of time inmates serve, and prison population rates across the fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia are examined. Data from 1973 to 1998 across these jurisdictions are analyzed using hierarchical multivariate linear models (HMLM). Results show that on the aggregate, sentencing reforms are not directly related to changes in state prison populations; however, abolition of parole is negatively associated with state prison population rates. Two types of sentencing reforms, the voluntary sentencing guidelines and the 'three-strikes' laws are indirectly related to changes in prison populations and have opposite influences on rates of new court commitments. Of six sentencing practices examined, not one is associated with length of incarceration. These results do not support the contention that neoclassical changes to the nation's sentence policies account for the rapid increase in the state prison populations between the early 1970s and late 1990s.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yan & Maxwell, Christopher D. & Vaughn, Michael S., 2009. "The impact of state sentencing policies on the U.S. prison population," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 190-199, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:37:y::i:2:p:190-199
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. MacKenzie, Doris Layton & Tracy, George S. & Williams, George, 1988. "Incarceration rates and demographic changes: A test of the demographic change hypothesis," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 241-253.
    2. Steven D. Levitt, 1996. "The Effect of Prison Population Size on Crime Rates: Evidence from Prison Overcrowding Litigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 319-351.
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    Cited by:

    1. Derek Neal & Armin Rick, 2014. "The Prison Boom and the Lack of Black Progress after Smith and Welch," NBER Working Papers 20283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Neal, Derek A. & Rick, Armin, 2013. "The Prison Boom & The Lack of Black Progress After Smith & Welch," Working Papers 248, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    3. Vîlcică, E. Rely, 2012. "Nature and consequences of dismissals: Implications for public safety and crime prevention in criminal courts in America," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 103-116.
    4. Steve Cook & Tom Winfield, 2013. "Crime across the States: Are US Crime Rates Converging?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(9), pages 1724-1741, July.
    5. Steve Cook & Duncan Watson, 2013. "Breaks and Convergence in U.S. Regional Crime Rates: Analysis of Their Presence and Implications," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-11, August.
    6. Derek Neal & Armin Rick, 2016. "The Prison Boom and Sentencing Policy," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(1), pages 1-41.
    7. Steve Cook & Tom Winfield, 2015. "The urban-rural divide, regional disaggregation and the convergence of crime," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(47), pages 5072-5087, October.

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