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Unintended Consequences of Linking Sentencing Guidelines to Prison Populations: A Reply to Moody and Marvell

NCJ Number
163165
Journal
Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1996) Pages: 269-279
Author(s)
L Stolzenberg; S J D'Alessio
Date Published
1996
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The criticisms of Moody and Marvell of the author's research regarding the impact of sentencing guidelines on jail incarceration in Minnesota have major flaws and do not invalidate the central findings of that research.
Abstract
The research used data before and after the guidelines took effect, except for a 22-month period immediately prior to and a 4-month period immediately after the onset of the sentencing guidelines. The authors argued that the exclusion of the data before the onset would not be a serious limitation because it decreased the likelihood of reactivity bias. The research contradicted the widely held belief that the rise in jail incarceration following the establishment of determinate sentencing in Minnesota resulted from a preexisting trend and revealed that the impact was more pronounced when levels of prison population were high. Moody and Marvell undertook a partial replication of the study, although they did not use the original data, which are available at no cost. However, the two procedures they advance for dealing with imbedded missing data in a series are seriously flawed. Their analyses have additional problems. As a result, the findings of the original study are valid. Tables, figures, footnotes, and 12 references