Morrow & Puzauskas on Indeterminate Sentencing Without Parole

Kevin Morrow and Katherine Puzauskas (Arizona State University (ASU), Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Students and Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law) have posted No Indeterminate Sentencing Without Parole on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This article looks critically at Arizona’s indeterminate sentencing system that survived after the elimination of parole in Arizona in 1993. It begins by exploring the purpose and history of indeterminate sentencing and parole as well as its earliest constitutional challenges and eventual decline. Next it compares two commonly confused forms of “release”: parole and executive clemency. The article then examines the three types of defendants and the potential consequences if Arizona does not reestablish parole for its indeterminate sentences: death row defendants denied parole eligibility instructions at trial, defendants whose plea agreement includes parole and defendants sentenced to parole at trial. Finally, the article argues that without parole, Arizona’s indeterminate sentences should be ruled unconstitutional.