Introduction
“Progressive criminologists across the world will agree that the Gandhian diagnosis
of offender as patients and his conception of prisons as hospitals – mental and moral – is
the key to the pathology of delinquency and the therapeutic role of ‘punishment’.”
- J. Krishna Iyer 2
The research student during the course of doctoral studies of the system of Probation of Offenders
in India and Massachusetts was also required to study and understand the system of sentencing in India
and comparatively in the May of 2015 had an opportunity to visit The Commissioner of Probation
Massachusetts, Boston, Common Wealth of Massachusetts in pursuance of the Doctoral study. On
further invitation the undersigned research student also had an opportunity to visit Massachusetts
Sentencing Commission, John Adams Court House, 1 Pemberton Square, Boston, MA and study the
sentencing policy. The Director, Linda K. Holt, Research and Planning, Sentencing Commission, MA
was generous to explain the Massachusetts Sentencing report submitted to the General Court on 10th
April 1996.
During this endevour it came to light that the sentencing policy comparatively in both the
societies are different and yet not any of the same are infallible and completely dependable, there is
a wide scope for study and comparison of the sentencing systems followed in India and Common
Wealth of Massachusetts, USA. this article does not aim at proposing any system of sentencing but
aims at the comparative analysis of both he systems.
