Deserved Criminal Sentences

This book provides an accessible and systematic restatement by one of the leading academic exponents of the desert model for criminal sentencing. The desert model emphasizes the degree of seriousness of the offender's crime in deciding the severity of his punishment. It has become increasingly influential in recent penal practice and scholarly debate. This book explains why sentences should be based principally on crime-seriousness. It addresses, among other topics, how a desert-based penalty scheme can be constructed; how to gauge punishments' seriousness and penalties' severity; what weight should be given to an offender's previous convictions; how non-custodial sentences should be scaled; and what leeway there might be for taking other factors into account, such as an offender's need for treatment. It will be of interest to all those working in penal theory, and criminal law more generally. [Subject: Criminal Law, Legal Philosophy, Criminology & Policing, Penology]