Sentencing Recommendations and Capital Issues

Two different models (indeterminate and determinate sentencing) bracket the range of approaches that characterize the sentencing of offenders, who have been convicted of noncapital offenses in U.S. courts. Indeterminate sentencing provides the sentencing court with a broad range of permissible dispositions (e.g., probation to a maximum period of imprisonment) that can be tailored to the circumstances of the defendant and the crime. This model offers wide-ranging opportunities to explore the relevance of mental health issues to the appropriate disposition. In contrast, determinate sentencing provides the court with a limited range of punishments with sentencing guidelines for a particular crime (e.g., 18–25 months of incarceration). This model offers only limited opportunities for mental health issues to justify a departure from a narrow range of punishments. Within indeterminate and determinate sentencing models, extensive variations occur from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Between indeterminate and determinate sentencing models, a myriad of approaches exist. Although many jurisdictions have adopted either a determinate or indeterminate model, many others have adopted a hybrid system combining selected aspects of both models (e.g., creating a presumptive sentence but permitting a variance by the sentencing court based on a host of individual circumstances).