The Punitive Solution: Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines, Incarceration, and Public Acceptance

Abstract

The pronounced expansion of criminal justice policy both in scope and severity has been labeled by numerous scholars as consituting a 'punitive turn' in U.S. criminal justice policy. The Chief purpose of this essay is to first detail the individual policies that 'layered' the development of the existing punitive system, then to assess the importance or role of public opinion in this development, and ultimately determine the success/failure of this punitive turn to accomplish its stated goals and address the underlying societal issues. As a result, by tracing public opinion towards the punitive turn, this paper intends to determine which groups are responsible for the punitive turns relative success or failure.