David Mulholland

Creative sentencing refers to punishments tailored to fit the crime and rehabilitate the offender. For example, an adolescent convicted of vandalism was sentenced by a teen court to guard and clean the wall he vandalized. Another court, attempting to keep drunk driving offenders sober, gave them the option to take home alcohol-monitoring devices instead of posting bail. In the following viewpoint, David Mulholland suggests that creative sentencing can be more effective than imprisonment for many offenders. He asserts that its flexibility gives punishments more meaning by allowing judges to rehabilitate offenders and sentence them to serve the community. Moreover, creative sentencing can divert minor offenders from prisons and reduce prison overcrowding. Mulholland is a staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Mulholland’s view, for what...