Branham's The Law and Policy of Sentencing and Corrections in a Nutshell

An excellent reference tool, this book explores a range of sentencing-related topics, including the principal purposes of criminal sentences, restorative justice, guilty pleas and plea bargaining, rights during sentencing proceedings, sentencing factors, different ways to structure sentencing systems, community-based sentencing options, the death penalty, Eighth Amendment constraints on sentences in noncapital cases, parole release, probation and parole revocation, and enmeshed penalties (often called the “collateral consequences” of a conviction). The latter half of the book contains a helpful and illuminating overview of the constitutional rights of prisoners, the mechanics of litigating incarcerated persons’ § 1983 suits, and the remedies available to them.