"Montana lawmaker offers pain instead of prison"

Doug Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy has this post excerpting an article about a new sentencing proposal. In part:

A Montana lawmaker says convicts should be allowed to get out of prison time if they instead agree to the "infliction of physical pain" — an idea that so far is receiving a cool reception.

Republican Rep. Jerry O'Neil is drafting a bill that would allow those convicted of misdemeanors or felonies to negotiate corporal punishment instead of another sentence. The method used to inflict the pain would be decided by a judge.