the legislature determines a sentence range for each crime, which is usually based on the seriousness of the crime and the criminal history of the offender. In addition, some of the states reduced parole boards’ power and set objective criteria in place, e.g. Indeterminate sentencing is based on the sentencing goal of rehabilitation, which is a type of penalty used to reform the offender and return the offender to society as a law-abiding citizen. They became popular in the 1980s, when public concern over crime increased dramatically and the public demanded stringent laws to address the crime problem. The offender will not spend more than 9 months in a facility, in some cases offered parole after some time served. Determinate Sentencing was created by the Texas Legislature in 1987 with the passing of the Texas Determinate Sentencing Act.5 Under the Texas Determinate Sentencing Act juveniles, between ages ten through sixteen, who had committed Capital Murder, … The Texas Legislature approved "determinate sentencing" for juvenile offenders in 1987 as an alternative approach to lowering the age at which a juvenile may be certified to stand trial as an adult. To retain the rehabilitative advantages of parole, however, several of these states strengthened “good-time” provisions, whereby a convict’s period of imprisonment could be reduced in consideration of good behaviour in prison. Term Lengths Determined By “Sentencing Triad” Under determinate sentencing, statute specifi es low, medium, and high terms of incarceration—known as the “sentencing triad”—for each offense. The principle behind indeterminate sentences is the hope that prison will rehabilitate some prisoners; those who show the most progress will be paroled closer to the minimum term than those who do not. Historical Sketch of the Indeterminate Sentence and Parole System Edward Lindsey Follow this and additional works at:https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of theCriminal Law Commons,Criminology Commons, and theCriminology and Criminal Justice Commons

Indeterminate Sentencing vs. Determinate Sentencing. The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. Sentencing and correctional patterns have greatly shifted since the 1960s. Indeterminate sentencing used to be the rule in every state and for the federal courts as well.
Although it can be just and fair in some situations, it can be discriminatory in others. For example, fi rst-degree burglary is punishable by a term of two, four, or six years. Determinate sentencing was a definite sentencing that was not subject to review by a parole board or other agency.
Determinate sentencing statutes have existed at various times throughout the history of the United States. As a punitive crime-control strategy, the foundation of "truth in sentencing" was primarily built within the victims' rights movement which began to emerge across the nation during the same time period. At its face value, determinate sentencing appears to be a consistent and fair application of the law. Compare: determinate sentence The primary purpose of determinate sentencing is not to rehabilitate, but to impose a predetermined range of fixed sentences. During the past decade, the move toward determinate sentencing has been rapid, spurred by the fear of crime and a spiralling crime rate.