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Alternative Sentencing Proposals
The Aleph Institute’s Alternative Sentencing Program
The Aleph Institute’s Sentencing Alternative Program since the late 1980's been an effective
program of assistance to the Courts that seek creative, alternative approaches to
incarceration. Incarceration is expensive and serious budgetary constraints have motivated
Federal and State Governments to be open to suggestions for alternative approaches to
traditional incarceration. Not only to do our programs save money but they are responsible
alternatives to straight incarceration. Our alternative sentencing proposals can work in concert
with the goals of State or Federal & State Prosecutors, Judges in the various courts and for the
defendants and their families and most importantly for society as a whole.
This is obviously not a program for violent offenders, repeat offenders or for certain others who
cause injury to many people as a consequence of their offense. Our goal therefore is not to
eliminate incarceration as a means of retribution and punishment or jail for offenders who
belong there. Our program is not meant as a suitable alternative where appropriate societal
concerns demand incarceration.
Our sentencing alternative program is first and foremost a tool for criminal defense
attorneys who have a client, usually a first offender, where incarceration is just one of many
approaches to resolving the case. Our program is not designed to simply avoid incarceration
where that is the most appropriate disposition in the case. It is for cases where a solid argument
can be made that the court, society and the offender, as well as his or her family, will benefit
from a fresh and unique approach to the sentencing process where incarceration may be a just
one component of the sentencing mechanism. This will be explained in more detail below.
It is not in anyone’s interest to resolve their case by simply doing time in prison when there are
other approaches which accomplish the same goals, meet society’s needs and where the
ultimate sentence imposed by the Court can have a positive impact upon all parties concerned.
So, we start with the proposition that our Alternative Sentencing Program isn’t for everybody
and is reserved for those whose cases have circumstances which allow for an alternative
approach to straight incarceration.
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One might ask, why would the Aleph Institute be qualified to assist defense attorneys
and their clients in structuring such an approach to sentencing? Our answer is based
upon our experience and expertise. For more than a quarter century, The Aleph Institute has
been involved in assisting Jews in institutional environments which includes prison
environments. Our experience is based upon our daily work which involves a hands-on
approach to assisting prisoners with their religious or spiritual problems in prison settings. We
deal with these issues on a daily basis. We know and understand the criminal justice system,
the sentencing process and the problems inherent with incarceration in State and Federal
Prisons.
In every case where a person is facing a sentence of incarceration, it is inevitable that one’s
family members will be in a stressful situation. Every breadwinner’s incarceration means that a
family will suffer from his or her absence. Every wife and child suffers from the loss of a loved
one who is incarcerated. The point here, of course, is that such a circumstance, while unique to
that particular offender and his immediate family at that moment in time, is not unique in criminal
cases. Every time a person appears before a judge facing a term of incarceration, it is a given
fact that the immediate family will be adversely impacted. This is neither special nor unique.
Every son and daughter has a mother and father who will suffer because of the jail sentence
imposed by a judge. Likewise, every child will pay a price for a parent’s incarceration. It is an
unavoidable consequence of incarceration and usually doesn’t serve as a factor to seek
leniency because this factor is present in practically every case; it is therefore neither unusual
nor unique.
As more and more States, along with the Federal Government, use guidelines to determine an
appropriate sentencing range for certain offenses, using complicated mathematical formulas to
compute the amount of incarceration, these guidelines are now advisory only, meaning that
Judges are free to fashion a sentence which accomplishes the goal of the guidelines, but in a
unique manner utilizing programs which we design and enforce for a particular defendant.
So then, when can Aleph’s Sentencing Alternative program benefit a defendant in a
particular case? The answer is that we strive to make a difference in all cases, even those
which call for substantial incarceration because we can utilize our more than 28 years of
experience dealing with prisons, prisoners and their families to assist the Court in fashioning a
sentence which may not avoid incarceration entirely, but which may incorporate fresh
approaches including home confinement, half-way house placement, and conditions of
supervised release, probation or parole in a manner which benefits all parties concerned by
incorporating programs of public service to the community and programs designed to
rehabilitate offenders.
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We utilize the wide-spread and growing network of the Chabad organization to supervise and
enforce the components of the programs for both public service and personal improvement and
counseling which assists the offender in re-entry into society and to complete his or her
personal mission of rehabilitation utilizing a program that we structure, staff and enforce. We
know what the judge’s alternatives are and we strive to find an approach which meets the needs
of all the parties concerned.
For many years, The Aleph Institute has been preparing proposals for courts across the United
States, presenting judges with alternative means to provide punishment while eliminating or
minimizing periods of incarceration – and the accompanying separation from family and
productive living. In providing these specialized professional services, Aleph has worked with
many criminal lawyers and criminal justice specialists in the country, and makes available a
nationwide network of sentencing specialists, former parole and probation officers, forensic
psychologists, social workers, immigration specialists and other professionals in this area when
needed. In addition to formal court presentations, Aleph’s staff provides invaluable consulting
services to attorneys and counseling to offenders and their families at every stage of the
proceedings.
To be clear, a person whose guidelines call for a substantial period of incarceration should not
expect that we can turn that inevitability into a slap on the wrist. That simply doesn’t happen.
But we have been successful convincing Judges where some incarceration is called for to utilize
alternative approaches to punishment by substituting rigorous programs involving public service
and rehabilitation designed specifically to meet the needs of a particular offender and his
immediate family. Since we are intimately familiar with the impact of incarceration on immediate
family members, we are able to be innovative in the creation and promotion of alternative
approaches in sentencing a particular defendant utilizing methods and procedures00 tailored to
the unique facts and circumstances of the case as an alternative or as an adjunct to straight
incarceration.
Our presentations begin with the notion that our goal is to work with, not replace, the
defense lawyer, in the sentencing process. We are not lawyers, but we have more
experience with prison issues and the impact and consequences that incarceration poses to
family members than most lawyers have, because we deal with these crises on a daily basis.
This allows us to use our experience on the ground in being creative and innovative in our
design of a one-of-a-kind program, tailored to the facts of the case at hand, that will meet the
societal need to punish the offender while striving to minimize the adverse impact on the
offender’s immediate family and provide for a structured program of self-improvement and
rehabilitation for the offender in lieu of a jail sentence resulting in a defendant just languishing in
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a prison somewhere.
A stringent screening process that includes interviews with the offender and counsel determines
eligibility. Aleph’s staff formulates sanctions that utilize modern approaches to reform and
rehabilitation, including home detention, electronic monitoring, curfew, community service,
financial monitoring, restitution, fines, education, intensive religious and family counseling, and
probation. Building on the individual strengths and personal characteristics of the particular
offender, our programs of public service are designed to make real, concrete and measurable
accomplishments in areas of societal concern where there is a real and urgent need for a
specific social service. Many of these public service programs are designed to assist vulnerable
and elderly people in the community who are in need of the most basic services which may
include the delivery of warm meals, social visits to stimulate their lives and to assist in any way
possible where there are no family members to meet those basic concerns. Most, if not all of
these social service programs, are administered by the Chabad network which is now
widespread in the United States with offices and Synagogues in most major communities
across the United States. These social service activities are usually supervised by Chabad
Rabbis who personally oversee the work that is performed and who know best which persons in
their communities are most in need of these social services.
We also strive to develop programs which entail either home confinement or half-way house
placement so that the offender may remain in close contact with his or her family thereby
minimizing the trauma to spouses and young children by keeping the offender in daily contact
with his or her family. Also, being in home confinement or in a half-way house allows the
offender to continue to work thereby allowing the family to avoid reaching out for social
assistance, food stamps and charity to survive. All of these factors are taken into account in
structuring an alternative sentence which aims to capitalize on the offenders talents, strengths
and capabilities while ensuring that there still remains a punitive component to the sentence by
requiring that offender to remain at home, under electronic monitoring, when not working. Our
aim is not to turn a prison sentence into a cake walk. Our goal is to meet the Court’s needs in
imposing a punishment while serving society in a measurable and meaningful manner.
Offenders who are sentenced to an alternative sentence created and designed by The Aleph
Institute must understand that while we are not an official arm of the criminal justice system,
many courts have recognized that we are well suited to structure and supervise programs of
public service and self-improvement as part of the criminal justice system. In order to maintain
our integrity, we do not tolerate nor will we participate in any deviation from the strict rules
imposed by the Court that imposes the sentence. If an offender fails to perform as required, we
are obligated to report this to the Court which may result in the revocation of the alternative
sentence and placement in a prison for failure to comply with the rules of the program.
In every case where we structure an alternative sentence for an offender, we do so in
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conjunction with the attorney for the defendant who remains, at all times, in charge of
the sentencing presentation. The case of every defendant who is considered for an
alternative sentence comes before a committee with Rabbi Sholom Lipskar at the helm. As the
founder of the Aleph Institute over 28 years ago, Rabbi Sholom Lipskar has a unique insight into
the criminal justice system and has many years of experience conceptualizing the nature and
kind of alternative sentence to be offered. In some special cases, the Rabbi will actually appear
in court to speak to the Judge to explain why Aleph’s alternative to straight incarceration is the
most appropriate vehicle for sentencing in a particular case.
Every proposal submitted by Aleph to the federal courts, through defense counsel, carefully
considers the factors outlined in 28 U.S.C. § 3553, including, but not limited to, “the history and
characteristics of the defendant” and the legislative directive to provide “correctional treatment
in the most effective manner.” Moreover, Aleph works to assist the court in fashioning a
particularized sentence “sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes
set forth” in the sentencing statute. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
After Rabbi Sholom Lipskar conceptualizes the parameters of an alternative sentence during
the committee evaluation, the matter is turned over to one or more Aleph staff members who
have the expertise in putting the program together into a coherent presentation which is
submitted to the defense attorney for his input and when finalized is presented in writing to the
Judge and usually delivered to the Court by the defense attorney.
No Aleph member is turned away because they are unable to pay for this service. In fact, we do
not charge a fee for offering this program to our members. However, those who are able to
afford making a charitable contribution to The Aleph Institute are encouraged to do so since, at
the end of the day, all of our funding comes from generous donations by people who care about
their brother or sister Jews who are in the midst of a crisis involving the criminal justice system.
We believe that making a meaningful contribution is the right thing to do if one can afford to do
so.
Finally, we are able to report that we have had success in our alternative sentencing programs
since many Judges are truly looking for alternatives to incarceration and have found our
programs to be a valuable and viable alternative. Our approach isn’t always successful in cases
where prosecutors and judges are determined to incarcerate an offender because the case is
either a high profile case, is politically charged or because a particular Court is not known for
leniency. But, where we have an honest opportunity to spell out our goals and to describe how
we can meet all of the Court’s sentencing concerns and objectives, we have had a good
success rate in making a positive difference for defendants and their families whom we strive to
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assist and protect.
Senior Federal District Judge Jack Weinstein from the Eastern District of New York has stated:
“[The Aleph Institute] is doing fine work . . . Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, the guiding force of the
Aleph Institute, and his associates understand and force us to face the fact that each person
deserves to be treated with respect as an individual personality and not as an integer, a
faceless number.”
Jack B. Weinstein, Prison Need Not Be Mandatory: There Are Options Under The New U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines
, 28 No. 1 Judges’ J. 16 (Jud. Admin. Div., Amer Bar
Ass’n 1989)
For more detailed information about our alternative sentencing approach, we urge you to
contact our Executive Director, Rabbi Aaron Lipskar, who will be pleased to answer your
questions, to address your concerns and provide you with more detail than we can publish on
our website to a world-wide audience. He may be reached by telephone at The Aleph Institute
which is located at 9540 Collins Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154, tel: 305.864.5553. His e-mail
address is: Rabbi Aaron Lipskar
<[email protected]
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While we have had much success in the Federal Courts across the land, we too have made
positive progress in State Courts amongst the 50 States. The point is that our approach to
alternative sentencing works in both State and Federal Courts. The Aleph Institute is well
respected for its contributions to innovative prison re-entry services and when the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which guarantees freedom of religion in Federal Prisons was
held to be inapplicable to State and local governments for constitutional reasons, our former
Executive Director testified before Congress as part of the Senate Hearings leading to the
passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, the Federal Law
guaranteeing religious freedom in state and local prisons or other state or local institutionalized
settings. We have a continuous on-going dialogue and a good working relationship with
members of the Federal Bureau of Prisons as well as senior staff and chief chaplains for the 50
State Departments of Corrections.
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Keep in mind that no two alternative sentencing proposals are the same since they are highly
personalized in order to deal with the unique facts and circumstances of a given offender, his
family and the circumstances of his/her case. We respect your privacy and because we work
under the umbrella of your attorney, the material is privileged and confidential.
We welcome your interest in our Alternative Sentencing Program. We suggest that if you think
your case qualifies for our assistance, have a discussion with your attorney and then contact
our Executive Director, Rabbi Aaron Lipskar for further inquiry. As your attorney will be the key
person with whom we will work, we invite your attorney to contact us too. We will happily
answer his or your questions and strive to address all of your concerns.
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