New Answer - Magoosh GMAT

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Judge Brown has shown a marked preference over the past decade for sentencing criminals to make amends for their crimes—for example, by apologizing to the victim—rather than sending them to jail. He argues that the rate of recidivism, or the likelihood that the criminal will commit another offense, is only 15% when he does so, while the average rate of recidivism in the country as a whole is above 35%. Judge Brown thus argues that the criminal justice system is most effective when criminals make amends for their crime, rather than serving time.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports Judge Brown’s claim?

The majority of the defendants that the judge sees are already repeat offenders who are statistically more likely to continue their offenses. The offenders who went on to commit a crime after making amends were less likely to commit a violent crime than were those who were repeat offenders who served time. Many of the sentenced criminals who made amends were those who expressed to Judge Brown a willingness to do so. Victims of the crimes were happier when the judged sentenced criminals to make amends, rather than when he sentenced them to serve time. A judge in a neighboring district found that, in his jurisdiction, criminals sentenced to make amends committed repeat offenses in 22% of cases.