NCJ Number
120768
Date Published
1989
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The Indiana Sentencing Resource Center provides comprehensive and specific sentencing memoranda at the request of local public defenders and helps Indiana courts punish nonviolent offenders more effectively in the community as an alternative to lengthy imprisonment.
Abstract
The center's staff also provides information to policy makers and practitioners about developments in the area of sentencing and related policy issues. The sentencing memoranda are consistent with the goals of public safety and victim restitution and involve close interaction among law enforcement, probation, victim assistance, mental health, and human service agencies. The center is a service of the Indiana Public Defender Council, a State agency that provides research, training, publications, and technical assistance to Indiana attorneys who defend indigents. Sentence planning for an individual offender usually begins when a public defender refers a potential case to the center, usually before a defendant enters a formal plea. The center reviews the information before deciding whether to accept the case for investigation. It examines the facts and prepares a plan to be submitted by the public defender to the prosecuting attorney and the sentencing judge. Tables, map, and copies of newspaper articles.