Law: Toward More Uniform Sentences

  • Share
  • Read Later

(2 of 2)

It was just that rationale that prompted the Senate to include a sentence-appeal provision in its version of the proposed mammoth revision of the criminal code, which has been lumbering through Congress for 14 years. As drafted, the provision would permit either side in a federal case to appeal sentences that fall outside a middle range. Under present law the Government may appeal only when the defendant is judged a dangerous special offender (like DiFrancesco) or a "special drug offender." As for defendants, they can appeal only sentences that are cruel and unusual, discriminatory, or beyond the statutory range.

With the more conservative cast of the new Congress, prospects for passage of the full revised code are bleak. Yet backers of the sentence-appeal provision remain hopeful. Now that the Supreme Court has removed the double-jeopardy objection to the provision, they believe they have enough support to have it removed from the main bill and passed separately.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. Next Page