NCJ Number
150645
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 525 Dated: (January 1993) Pages: 147-156
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The author argues that when commissions do not analyze major social and political forces that will affect the implementation of their recommendations, their work is incomplete; the U.S. Sentencing Commission, in particular, first disregarded social and political forces and had to redraft its recommendations with respect to corporate crimes.
Abstract
Initial guidelines of the U.S. Sentencing Commission on corporate sentences were published in 1989. Two options were offered: (1) fines ranging from two to three times the amount of damages caused or illicit gains obtained by corporations; and (2) 32-level sliding scale of fines that depended on offense severity. Predictably, major corporations severely criticized the sentencing recommendations. The U.S. Sentencing Commission withdrew its recommendations and promised to reconsider them. New recommendations issued in 1990 drastically reduced most penalties for corporate crimes, but the diluted and weakened guidelines were still not acceptable to the basic political lineup. More revisions had to be made to incorporate provisions that would inhibit criminal conduct and offer an effective compliance program. The importance of corporate rehabilitation and community service is emphasized in the context of making corporations pay for their misdeeds and become more accountable. 24 footnotes