The analysis notes that when people cannot pay a monetary penalty they tend either to be given the lighter penalty of a conditional discharge or the heavier penalty of imprisonment. Sentencers do not like this situation, fearing either that poverty will become a license for crime or that prison overcrowding and recidivism will increase. The discussions emphasize that society should show its disapproval of crime by imposing sentences and examine several contemporary myths about sentencing. These myths assume that sentencing paradoxes arise only in relation to the poor, that prison is the necessary backup to the fine, and that the only viable alternatives to imprisonment are ones that bring the pains of imprisonment to the already difficult circumstances of the poor outside prison. The discussions also focus on the sentencing of women and white-collar criminals, on achievable sentencing alternatives, and on alternatives to current penal policies. Tables, subject index, author index, and 232 references.