Between Prison and Probation: Intermediate Punishments in a Rational Sentencing System

Across the country prisons are jammed to capacity, and in extreme cases, barges and mobile homes are used to stem the overflow. Probation officers in some cities have caseloads of 200 and more--hardly a manageable number of offenders to track and supervise. And with about one million people in prison and jail, and two and a half million on probation, it is clear our penal system is in crisis.
In Between Prison and Probation, Norval Morris and Michael Tonry, two of the nation's leading criminologists, offer an important and timely strategy for alleviating these problems. Our corrections system cannot cope with the overwhelming number of offenders, they argue, because the two extremes of punishment it metes out--prison and probation--are both used excessively, with a near-vacuum of useful punishments in between. Morris and Tonry propose instead a comprehensive program that relies on a range of punishments, including fines, community service, and house arrest. Between Prison and Probation goes beyond mere advocacy to address the difficult task of fitting intermediate punishments into a comprehensive, fair and community-protective sentencing system.

Norval Morris is Julius Kreeger Professor of Law and Criminology at the University of Chicago and the author of ten books on criminology. Michael Tonry is Sonosky Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Law School. Together they edit Crime and Justice--A Review of Research.