Doug Berman's Sentencing Law Resources

Since the 1970s, sentencing has undergone a political and legal revolution; it has been transformed from a field once rightly accused of being "lawless" to one that is now replete with law. Legislatures and sentencing commissions have developed various "structured" or "guideline" systems to govern sentencing in state and federal courts, and the evolution of modern sentencing reforms is one of the most dynamic and interesting stories in American legal history.

In the series of web pages linked in the side bar, you will find materials and links on the major legal issues that are occupying courts and policy-makers nationwide. In addition, below I have assembled links to a number of leading organizations working in the field of sentencing reform (all links below will open in new windows).

Capital Punishment

• Death Penalty Information Center
• ABA Death Penalty Project
• National Association to Abolish the Death Penalty

Non-Capital Sentencing

• Federal Sentencing Reporter
• Vera Institute's State Sentencing and Corrections Program
• United States Sentencing Commission
• State Sentencing Commissions
• Death Penalty Information Center
• The Sentencing Project
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums
• Justice Policy Institute