Crim J7 Chap. 8

Front 1

presentence investigation

Back 1

examination of convicted offender's background prior to sentencing; presentence examinations are generally conducted by procation or parole officers and are submitted to sentencing authorities

Front 2

truth in sentencing

Back 2

close correspondence between the sentence imposed upon those sent to prison and the time actually served prior to prison relaese

Front 3

social debt

Back 3

model of criminal punishment that includes determinate and commission-created presumptive sentencing schemes, as well as voluntary/advisory sentencing guidelines

Front 4

victim-impact statement

Back 4

the in-court use of victim- or survivor-supplied information by sentencing authorities wishing to make an informed sentencing decision

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mitigating circumstances

Back 5

circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime which may be considered as reducing the blame worthiness of the defendant

Front 6

capital punishment

Back 6

death penalty; capital punishment is the most extreme of all sentencing options

Front 7

rehabilitation

Back 7

attempt the reform a criminal offender; state in which a reformed offender is said to be

Front 8

determinate sentencing

Back 8

model of criminal punishment in which an offender is given a fixed term that may be reduced by good time or earned time. under the model, for example, all offenders convicted of the same degree of burglary would be sentenced to the same length of time behind bars

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restoration

Back 9

goal of criminal sentencing that attmpts to make the victim "whole again"

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restorative justice

Back 10

sentencing model that builds upon restitution and community participation in an attempt to make the victim "whole again"

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incapacitation

Back 11

use of imprisonment or other means to reduce the likelihood that an offender will be capable of committing future offenses

Front 12

retribution

Back 12

act of taking revenge upon a criminal perpetrator

Front 13

sentencing

Back 13

imposition of a criminal sanction by a judicial authority

Front 14

indeterminate sentencing

Back 14

model of criminal punishment that encourages rehabilitation via the use of general and relatively unspecific sentences (such as a term of imprisonment of from one to ten yrs)

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mandatory sentencing

Back 15

structured sentencing scheme that llows no leeway in the nature of the sentnece required and under which clearly enumerated punishments are mandated for specific offenses or for habitual offenders convicted of a series of crimes

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just deserts

Back 16

model of criminal sentencing that holds that criminal offenders deserve the punishment they receive at the hands of the law and that punishments should be appropriate to the type and severity of the crime committed

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specific deterrence

Back 17

goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent a particular offender from engaging in repeat criminality

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writ of habeus corpus

Back 18

a writ that directs the person detaining a prisoner to bring him or her before a judicial officer to determine the lawfulness of the imprisonment

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gain time

Back 19

amount of time deducted from the time to be served in prison on a given sentence for participation in special projects or programs

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capital offense

Back 20

a criminal offense punishable by death

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deterrence

Back 21

goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to inhibit criminal behavior by fear of punishment

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good time

Back 22

amount of time deducted from time to be served in prison on a given sentence fro good behavior

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aggravating circumstances

Back 23

circumstances relating to the commission of a crime which cause its gravity to be greater that that of the average instance of the given type of offense

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proportionality

Back 24

sentencing principle that holds that the severity of sanctions should bear a direct relationship to a seriousness of the crime committed

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equity

Back 25

sentencing principle, based upon concerns with social equality, that holds that similar crimes should be punished with the same degree of severity, regardless of the social or personal characteristics of the offenders

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voluntary/advisory sentencing guidelines

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recommended sentencing policies that are not required by law

Front 27

presumptive sentencing

Back 27

model of criminal punishment that meets the following conditions: 1)appropriate sentence for an offender in a specific case is presumed to fall within a range of sentences authorized by sentencing guidelines that are adopted by a legislatively created sentencing body, usually a sentencing commission; 2)sentencing judges are expected to sentence within the range of to provide written justification for departure; 3) the guidelines provide for some review, usually appellate, of the departure

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general deterrence

Back 28

a goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one for which a particular offender is being sentenced by making as example of the person sentenced