I briefly mentioned at the end of class this past week that the American Law Institute is in the midst of revising the Model Penal Code's sentencing provisions, and that I have been critical of some of the structural changes that the MPC revision is advocating. If you want to do some snow day reading of my writings on these matters, check out this piece from the September 2009 issue of the Florida Law Review, which is titled "The Enduring (and Again Timely) Wisdom of the Original MPC Sentencing Provisions."
In addition, you can find other terrific (and relatively short) readings on the Model Penal Code's new sentencing proposals in this issue of the Florida Law Review. As always, comments are welcome and encouraged on these topics.
Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law 
One response to “Snow day readings on revising the MPC sentencing provisions”
It seems that when the fist MPCS was drafted, the ALI took what was the prevailing justification of institutionalized punishment, rehabilitation, and used that as the basis of its code. Has it done anything differently here? Wouldn’t the ALI risk its revised code being marginalized if it did not recognize the prevailing trends in sentencing practice and justification? If it stressed rehabilitation over limiting retributivism, its work would be relegated to an afterthought. It is the lack of any kind of political will to address the growing prison population and incarceration rate that is the real impediment to reform. Possibly, the revised MPCS by not addressing the problem could spur academic debate and a movement for change just as well as if it had.
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