Background and Context
Prior to 1989, Oregon judges would decide whether a convicted felon should be put on probation or sent to prison, and for those sent to prison, set a maximum sentence (known as an "indeterminate sentence.") Based on a subsequent decision by the Parole Board, the average offender would serve a fraction of the sentence handed down by the judge.
The Oregon Legislative Assembly established felony sentencing guidelines in 1989, in an attempt to achieve the following four goals:
- Proportional punishment, imposing the most severe sentences on the most serious offenders
- Truth in sentencing, so the judge's sentence would more closely reflect actual prison time
- Sentence uniformity, to reduce disparities among judges
- Maintenance of correctional capacity consistent with sentencing policy, so the criminal justice system would be able to deliver proposed penalties.
Parole release for most offenders was abolished by the establishment of these guidelines. The Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision continues to have release authority over those prison inmates sentenced for crimes committed prior to November 1, 1989, those sentenced by the courts as dangerous offenders, and for murderers and aggravated murderers who are eligible for parole, regardless of the date of their crimes. Other prisoners began serving at least 80% of their sentences.
Measure 11, passed in 1994, affected only specific crimes, which were covered by the sentencing guidelines from 1989 to 1994.
Various exceptions exist to the guidelines, and to Measure 11 restrictions on sentencing.
Read more about this topic: Oregon Ballot Measure 11 (1994)
Famous quotes containing the words background and, background and/or context:
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“The hard truth is that what may be acceptable in elite culture may not be acceptable in mass culture, that tastes which pose only innocent ethical issues as the property of a minority become corrupting when they become more established. Taste is context, and the context has changed.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)