PURPOSE AND GOALS
The Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission (MOSAC) was created in 1994, transforming the already existing Sentencing Commission into MOSAC. That new commission was given an additional charge of developing a system of recommended sentences, in addition to its previous duties of studying sentencing practices for disparities among the various circuit courts with respect to the length of sentences and use of probation. The old commission had also been charged with examining to what extent sentencing disparity among economic and social classes exists in relation to the death sentence, and if so, the reasons for it. The commission was to compile statistics, examine cases, draw conclusions and do other research relative to death penalty sentencing disparity.
In 1998, MOSAC issued a report, Advisory Sentencing Guidelines Users Manual, which stated: that its purpose was to “recommend a uniform policy that will ensure certainty, consistency, and proportionality of punishment, recognize the impact of crime on victims, and provide protection for society. The use of these guidelines will result in minimal sentencing disparity and a rational use of correctional resources consistent with public safety.”
The guidelines gained mixed reviews and varying extents of usage in the various circuits. MOSAC lay dormant until 2003, when new legislation, which made significant changes to the statute (Section 558.019.6 RSMo) which had created the commission. That legislation ordered the commission to also study alternative sentences, prison work programs, work release, home-based incarceration, probation and parole options and any other programs and report the feasibility of these options in Missouri. The commission released a report in June 2004, Report on Recommended Sentencing.
Building upon the work of the previous MOSAC, the report stipulated that the commission’s goal was to achieve a sentencing system that is fair, protects the public and uses corrections resources wisely. The new sentencing recommendations are based on current sentencing and corrections practices. They provide:
- Risk assessment using a modified version of the salient risk factors used by the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole (BPP) to determine eligibility for release on parole. These risk factors have been validated by statistical studies of Missouri offenders.
- Grouping of offenses in the same manner as they are categorized by statute and the BPP.
- Severity of offenses where within each group crimes are arranged in categories of severity from Level I (most severe) to Level III (least severe).
- Sentencing Recommendations based upon data on sentences throughout the state.
The commission is to release a report every two years.