Final answer:
Sentencing decisions are ideally based on the crime and the law, but in practice, they can be influenced by prison populations and state resources. Factors such as racial disparities, economic interests, and overcrowding litigation impact sentencing, making the statement that they don't consider these elements false.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the question, it's false that sentencing decisions do not consider prison populations and state resources. While the ideal of justice suggests that sentences are passed solely based on the crime and applicable law, in reality, various systemic factors can influence sentencing decisions. Federal statistics indicate a significant increase in the prison population, which has put a strain on resources. Studies show that the large-scale incarceration in the U.S. has been influenced by factors such as race, poverty, and the economics of the prison industry, which includes the influential lobbying of corporations and contractors. Moreover, the impact of mass incarceration has had societal consequences, particularly affecting minority communities. It's also documented that in some cases, litigation related to prison overcrowding has affected how the criminal justice system responds to crime, with efforts to reduce sentences or seek alternative penalties when prisons become too full.
Thus, while the legal stance is that sentencing should not be influenced by externalities like prison capacity or budgets, these factors can and do sometimes indirectly influence sentencing outcomes, hinting at the complexity of the criminal justice system and its interaction with societal pressures and limitations.