In colonial days, thieves were nailed by their ear lobes to the village hitching post, the better to contemplate their wrongs. Vermont, is at the crest of a breaking wave. In Maine, state officials hope to begin a Vermont-style sentencing program later this year. In Washington, D.C., the National Institute of Justice has commissioned a study of the phenomenon. Vermont's sentencing boards, which have been meting punishments statewide since late 1995, are not without controversy.
Defense lawyers say sanctions can vary widely, raising the issue of fairness.
Others question the constitutionality of private citizens acting as judges. Vermont corrections officials, who began their program with a U.S. Justice Department grant, see things a bit differently. The Green Mountain State is tiny and relatively safe, ranking 49th in population and experiencing violent crime at about one sixth the national rate. The boards, typically four to six volunteers, handle misdemeanors and low-grade felonies such as drunken driving and writing bad checks. And while such crimes normally would not merit jail time, removing the cases from the traditional criminal justice system has the side benefit of freeing corrections department resources.