The Center is a collaborative endeavor of former public officials, researchers and correctional professionals representing local, state, and federal interests. The Center was created in 1987 to promote the overall concept of community-based sanctions as well as specific program initiatives based on current research and actual program application. Our purpose is to help shape public policy through communication with legislative bodies, correctional officials and the media.
Tom has a serious and expensive drug addiction. He is twenty years old with no prior felony convictions. He committed a string of burglaries and has pleaded guilty to three cases involving burglaries of homes. He now stands before the judge, awaiting his sentence. If you were the judge, what punishment would you prescribe? Probation? Prison? Or something in between?
Tom’s case is a real one. The Alabama judge before whom Tom appeared gave him a split sentence of five years, the first four to be served on probation and the fifth in the penitentiary. At the end of the four-year probation period, assuming good conduct, Tom may petition the court to suspend the remainder of his sentence. As a special condition of his probation, Tom must pay restitution to his victims, continue to participate in the drug counseling he has already begun; complete four hours of community service a week for a year; and obtain a GED (high school equivalency diploma).