The United States Sentencing Commission will host a Symposium on Crime and Punishment in the United States: Alternatives to Incarceration on July 14-15, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The symposium will focus on various sentencing options available within the federal and state systems, including the use of sentencing alternatives in combination with and/or in lieu of imprisonment.

Presenters at the symposium include federal and state judges, congressional staff, professors of law and the social sciences, corrections and alternative sentencing practitioners and specialists, federal and state prosecutors and defense attorneys, prisons officials, and others involved in criminal justice. Approximately 250 individuals representing the federal and state criminal justice communities, academia, and public interest groups have been invited to attend. Topics to be examined include –

* drug courts and treatment options for certain offenders;
* alternative sentencing options in the federal and state systems;
* restorative justice-based programs;
* prison programs resulting in reduced sentences;
* the Second Chance Act and re-entry issues; and
* collateral consequences of convictions.

Created by Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the U.S. Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of the federal government. Its principal purposes are (1) to establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines to be consulted regarding the appropriate form and severity of punishment for federal offenders; (2) to advise and assist Congress and the executive branch in the development of effective and efficient crime policy; and (3) to collect, analyze, research, and distribute information on federal crime and sentencing issues.

For more information about the symposium, contact the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at 202/502-4597.