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Preferred term

determinate sentences  

Definition

  • The word determinate means “with exact and definite limits.” Determinate sentencing is defined as a judge sentencing an offender to a fixed prison term, with the sentence closely representing the actual amount of time the offender will serve. Determinate sentencing systems generally provide a provision for early release based on “good time.” The movement toward determinate sentencing arose during the 1960s and 1970s in response to a broad range of concerns about indeterminate sentencing (in which a judge sentences an offender to prison, but the precise amount of time an inmate serves is left to prison officials or a parole board). [Source: Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment; Determinate Sentences]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/determinate_sentences

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