It is no secret that America's sentencing and corrections systems are in crisis, and neither system can be understood or repaired fully without careful consideration of the other. This handbook examines the intertwined and multi-layered fields of American sentencing and corrections from global and historical viewpoints, from theoretical and policy perspectives, and with close attention to many problem-specific arenas. Editors Joan Petersilia and Kevin R. Reitz, both leaders in their respective fields, bring together a group of preeminent scholars to present state-of-the art research, investigate current practices, and explore the implications of new and varied approaches wherever possible. The handbook's contributors bridge the gap between research and policy across a range of topics including an overview of mass incarceration and its collateral effects, explorations of sentencing theories and their applications, analyses of the full spectrum of correctional options, and first-hand accounts of life inside of and outside of prison. Individual chapters reflect expertise and source materials from multiple fields including criminology, law, sociology, psychology, public policy, economics, political science, and history.

Proving that the problems of sentencing and corrections, writ large, cannot be addressed effectively or comprehensively within the confines of any one discipline, The Oxford Handbook of Sentencing and Corrections is a vital reference volume on these two related and central components of America's ongoing experiment in mass incarceration.