Date of Award

1982

Degree Name

Criminal Justice

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Robert J. Mutchnick

Second Advisor

David W. Patterson

Third Advisor

Hilary Q. Harper

Fourth Advisor

Paul D. Stewart

Abstract

The sentencing of individuals is a very important stage in the Criminal Justice System in the United States. The sentence is the basic decision which determines how, where, and for how long an offender should be dealt with by the state (LaBeff, 1978, p. 1). This study will focus on the question of whether or not sentence disparity exists in West Virginia.

Sentencing processes in our Criminal Justice System today are in keeping with the “Treatment Model” of Corrections . According to Fogel (1975) in We Are The Living Proof, the treatment model has three main goals: (1) diagnosis and classification of inmates into a limited number of types with prescriptive treatments for each; (2) ongoing evaluation of the treatment’s progress, in order to determine the point of recovery called "parole readiness"; and (3) all this should occur in an indefinite time sequence so that a sentence will not expire before the most favorable therapeutic time for release occurs.

Subject(s)

Criminal courts – West Virginia.

Criminal justice, Administration of – West Virginia.

Sentences (Criminal procedure) – West Virginia.

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