University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Behav Sci Law. 2020 May;38(3):207-217. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2461. Epub 2020 Mar 26.
This article recommends the development of broad policies of preclusion regarding the use of incarceration for offenders who are highly unlikely to commit a violent crime in the future. The proposal builds on the new Model Penal Code: Sentencing's provision on the limited utilitarian purposes of incarceration. Such low-violence-risk-preclusion strategies (LVRPs) would stand on the most powerful predictive capabilities of today's risk assessment technology. If implemented properly, there is reason to believe that substantial drops in prison rates could be realized in most states. The preclusion groups would include defendants who should not be sent to prison or jail by sentencing judges even though the law allows for such penalties; those serving prison sentences who should be released by parole boards or other releasing authorities at the earliest opportunity; and probation and parole violators who should not be revoked to prison or jail. The strongest objection to the LVRP proposal is the fear of racial or other unacceptable biases in its apportionment of reduced-incarceration benefits. Given current high levels of disproportionality in prison and jail populations, however, there is reason to think that the benefits of LVRP would be especially pronounced in disadvantaged communities.
本文建议制定广泛的防范性政策，对于那些未来极不可能犯下暴力罪行的罪犯，避免将其监禁。该提议建立在新的《模范刑法典：量刑》关于监禁的有限功利目的的规定之上。这种低暴力风险防范策略（LVRP）将建立在当今风险评估技术的最强预测能力之上。如果实施得当，大多数州的监禁率有望大幅下降。防范性群体将包括那些尽管法律允许判处监禁或监禁，但不应被判决法官判处监禁或监禁的被告；那些本应通过假释委员会或其他释放当局尽早获释的服刑人员；以及本不应因违反缓刑或假释而被送回监狱或监狱的缓刑和假释违规者。对 LVRP 提案的最强反对意见是担心其在分配减少监禁的好处方面存在种族或其他不可接受的偏见。然而，鉴于目前监狱和拘留所人口中存在不成比例的情况，有理由认为 LVRP 的好处在弱势群体社区中尤为明显。
