Idaho judges taking a new look at sentencing guidelines law

NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — Idaho judges are studying a sentencing guidelines law to determine if it is contributing to the state's rapidly growing prison population.

Fourth District Judge Michael Reardon told the Idaho Press the law enacted in 1977 contains outdated thinking about how to deter crime.

"When this statute was written, we didn't know anything," said Reardon, who serves on the state Supreme Court's Felony Sentencing Working Group.

The law instructs judges to choose imprisonment if the offender is likely to commit another crime or has committed multiple offenses, or if the defendant needs correctional treatment that can be provided most effectively by sending them to prison.