The headline to this post is the title of a two-page policy brief from Marc Levin at the Texas Public Policy Foundation giving legislators guidance when considering new criminal penalty enhancements. Here are the questions Levin says legislators should be asking. (See the full document for more detail.)Have sentences already gotten tougher?Is there evidence that current penalties are ineffective?Will an enhancement deter the conduct?Does the enhancement reduce the discretion of judges, juries and corrections officials?Will the enhancement make the penalty for the offense more or less commensurate with other penalties?Are there other solutions?This is a sequel to his 2011 document, "Analyze Before You Criminalize."Please use the comments to suggest other potential, rhyming titles along these themes for Marc's 2015 edition, e.g., "Don't enhance with insouciance," or "New crime weaning time."
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