Mandatory Sentencing: Implications for Judicial Independence.

Source: (2001) Australian Journal of Human Rights. 7(2):21-30.

This article expresses concern for mandatory sentencing, which generally “insists on the incarceration of a first offender, more especially a young offender, for theft, no matter how trivial the amount involved.” The author believes that restorative justice alternatives would help decrease the likelihood of young offenders committing more crimes later in life. Rehabilitation tends to be more cost effective and ultimately leads to a “better world” in the author’s opinion. Courts in Canada and New Zealand have already sanctioned these restorative justice approaches.