To Maximize The Minimum
| DOI | 10.1177/003288557205200105 |
| Published date | 01 April 1972 |
| Author | Stewart Werner |
| Date | 01 April 1972 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
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To
Maximize
The
Minimum
By
Stewart
Werner
Deputy
Commissioner
Pennsylvania
Bureau
of
Correction
&dquo;No
mortal
man,
with
or
without
a
judicial
commission,
can
predict
with
certainty
the future
developments
of
a
human
personality.&dquo;
Honorable
George
H.
Boldt,
Jr.
United
States
District
Court
Western
District
of
Washington
&dquo;Let
the
punishment
fit
the
crime.&dquo;
We
are
emerging
with
considerable
difficulty
from
this
traditional
and
simplistic
ap-
proach
to
sentencing.
We
are
entering
into
a
twentieth
century
concept
of
socialized
justice.
This
new
approach
emphasizes
the
dignity
of
the
individual
and
his
particular
needs.
Once
these
objectives
are
served,
so
will
the
ends
of
justice
be
served.
If
socialized
justice
is
to
become
a
reality,
sentencing
must
make
provision
to
effectuate
a
helping
process.
Implicit
in
this
provision
is
the
court’s
trust
in
the
correctional
process
to
carry
out
its
mandate.
Definitions
Pennsylvania
statutorily
permits
the
judiciary
to
set
the
minimum
equal
to
or
less
than
one-half
of
the
maximum
where
no
minimum
is
set
by
statute)
The
court
has
noted
&dquo;the
maxi-
mum
sentence
for
an
offense
is
the
only
portion
of
the
sentence
which
has
legal
validity
since
the
minimum
sentence
is
merely
an
administrative
notice...
112.
As
stated,
the
court
looks
upon
the
minimum
as
merely
an
administrative
notice
to
the
Bureau
of
Correction
and
the
Board
of
Probation
and
Parole
that
it
may
consider
release
of
the
offender
and
return
his
to
society.
The
passing
of
this
appointed
time
merely
allows
release
of
the
offender.
It
does
not
insure
his
immediate
release
as
we
noted
in
Com.
ex
rel.
Lynch
v.
Ashe :
&dquo;Prisoners
are
not
automatically
paroled
at
expiration
of
their
minimum
term,
but
are
merely
eligible
for
parole,
granting
of
which
is
a
matter
of
grace
and
1.
19
Purdon’s
Pa.
Statutes
Ann.
§ 1057,
1086
2.
Com.
ex
rel.
Atkins
v.
Pa.
Board
of
Parole,
Harrisburg,
Pa.
63
Dauph.
329 (1953)
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