The principle of less eligibility stipulates that if imprisonment is to act as a deterrent the treatment given a prisoner should not be superior to that provided a member of the lowest significant social class in the free society. Less eligibility is a powerful concept that has greatly influenced the policies and operations of the correctional system but has rarely been discussed in any detail. This work will consider the history of less eligibility stemming from the English Poor Laws and the writings of Jeremy Bentham and then present an analysis of the principle relative to sentencing discretion, deterrence, prison reform, the quality of prison life, convict labor, rehabilitation programs, jail practices, and post-release experiences.
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