Not Freida Cook, I am Ltpar1-a relative:  “Evidence Based Sentencing,” give us a break.  This is nothing but a rehash of an old bleeding heart theory, repackaged and is now being forced on the public.  For those not familiar with the Criminal Justice System, by the time a criminal gets to the State Prison catagory, they have been recycled over and over again on previous charges being given Probation, Diversion, Community Service, House Detention, County Jail and Parole.  None of it works because 97% of criminals are recidivists, meaning habitual criminals.  They like what they do and have no desire to change.  For these people you can forget rehabilitation.  What you can do is lock them up for the maximum term prescribed by law, get them off the streets and away from finding more victims.  If you really want to know why crime rates are down in many parts of the United States, it is because career criminals are in prison.  Until the “bleeding heart” mentality ends, the old saying,“Crime Doesn’t Pay,” will never be true.