Compare and contrast the sentencing models of indeterminate and determinate

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

When a convicted offender is sentenced to prison, the statutes of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed determine the penalties that the court may impose. The indeterminate sentence is still the most widely used type of sentence despite having been created in the 1870s. This type of sentence represents a range between a "light" minimum sentence and a lengthy maximum sentence. Under this scheme, the actual length of time served by the offender is controlled both by the judge and the correctional agency and has the potential to factor in time off for good behavior if the state subscribes to that practice and eligibility for parole when appropriate. The basic purpose is to individualize the sentence in the interests of rehabilitating the offender. Due to dissatisfaction with the disparity and uncertainty of indeterminate sentencing, the federal government has abandoned this model in favor of determinate sentencing to curb judicial discretion. Determinate sentences offer a fixed term of years, the maximum set in law by the legislature, to be served by the offender sentenced to prison or jail for a particular crime. For example, some states and the federal government have imposed determinate sentences for all crimes that involve the use of a firearm.