Includes index.

Explores one of the most consequential and contested decision-points in the criminal justice system: whether and how to punish those convicted of crimes. During this period of political polarization, declining trust in institutions, and concerns about the treatment of immigrants in the United States and elsewhere, longstanding sentencing practices are being questioned and reforms are afoot. This volume examines how sentencing policies and practices have evolved, and crucially, where they might go next. Drawing on the insights of leading scholars, the Handbook situates contemporary sentencing within a broader historical and social context. It traces the policies that gave rise to mass incarceration, the shifting philosophies behind punishment, and the consequences of punitive sentencing.

Specialized.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on January 6, 2026).