현행 양형기준의 문제점과 개선방안

To resolve sentencing disparity which has pointed out as a problem to the criminal trial in this country, the first sentencing guidelines have been in enforcement with respect to 7 crime categories including murder since on July, 2009. The purpose of sentencing guidelines is to improve the judicial credibility of the people by applying the sound idea of the public as well as fulfilling an objective and impartial sentencing. Therefore, it is desirable that guidelines are specific and objective for the people to understand and accept them easily. The first sentencing guidelines, however, have several inadequacies in this point of view. In this article, I made an effort to explain the features and contents of current sentencing guidelines beforehand, and suggested the improvement plans after examining problems of the guidelines and analysis with application of sentencing guidelines on the sexual crime. The amendment discussions on sentencing guidelines of sexual crime progressed last year have described briefly as a reference. Current sentencing guidelines have linient sentencing ranges which are recommended lower than statutory sentencing range, and they also have comparatively wide sentencing ranges. Moreover, they still provides great discretions to judges, because there are no specific guidelines for making final decision in sentencing and no clear suspended sentencing guidelines. It is an urgent assignment to be solved that since about half of the decisions didn't even mentioned the guidelines in the judgements, it is hard to find out whether the guidelines have applied or not. The application analysis of sentencing guidelines on sexual crime against child under age of 13 indicates the problems of sentencing guidelines. As a solution, the ways are proposed to raise level of sentencing ranges, to specify suspended sentencing guidelines and to make starting points in each sentencing range. But, limitations have seen that these proposals are only temporary ways to maintain the current type of the guidelines. Reffering to the detailed analysis in relations to sentencing guidelines application, revision and changes have to be made over the guidelines In the near future. The assessment should be done critically what changes have been made concerning so called 'ex-judge's inproper intervention, liniency, sentencing disparity which always has pointed out as a problems in sentencing through out these days. Through these overall assessments, sentencing guidelines are expected to be amended better.