This article examines jurors’ views on sentencing from trials returning guilty verdicts where the offender has been sentenced to a wholly suspended sentence or where jurors have suggested a wholly suspended sentence as the most appropriate sentencing outcome. It challenges the poor public image of suspended sentences and provides further evidence that informed judgement on sentencing issues reveals a public that is not as punitive as is commonly portrayed. However, rather than claiming that the findings support the intrinsic worth of wholly suspended sentences, it is suggested that they indicate a desire to avoid immediate prison sentences in many cases. In other words it shows there is considerable support for non-custodial options in the kinds of cases that attract wholly suspended sentences, even in the case of some crimes of violence.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	jurors’ perceptions, jury studies, public opinion, sentencing, suspended sentence
Research Division:	Studies in Human Society
Research Group:	Criminology
Research Field:	Courts and Sentencing
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Justice and the Law
Objective Field:	Criminal Justice
Author:	Warner, K (Professor Kate Warner)
Author:	Spiranovic, CA (Dr Caroline Spiranovic)
ID Code:	91398
Year Published:	2014
Web of Science® Times Cited:	2
Deposited By:	Faculty of Law
Deposited On:	2014-05-16
Last Modified:	2018-03-08
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