Michael Wolf served for many years on the Missouri Supreme Court, and at one point was that state’s Chief Justice. There are few judges in the United States that are his equal when it comes to writing interesting and thoughtful commentary…he was afterall, at one point a journalist.  Commentary by him should be of interest to a lot of judges, and thankfully, he has a new article:

 Missouri Provides Cost of Sentences and Recidivism Data: What Does Cost Have to Do with Justice? (Federal Sentencing Reporter, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

The Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission in 2010, which has an information-based sentencing information system, added two items of information to its Web-based Automated Sentencing Information feature: (1) the cost of each sentencing option and (2) the recidivism rate for offenders – with similar risk factors – who received sentences for the same offense or category of offenses. Because sentencing decisions in Missouri are discretionary, judges are free to use or to disregard the information. For many offenses, however, it is possible for an advocate to argue or for a judge (or the public) to conclude that a more harsh sentence not only may cost more, but may be followed by a higher rate of re-offending than a less severe punishment.