Forensic Psychology Final

Front 1

At the end of 2007 how much of the population was incarcerated or on probation or parole?

Back 1

about 3.2%

1 in 32 adults—

Front 2

What race is more likelyto be sent to prison?

Back 2

Blacks are much more likely to be sentenced to prison than Whites.

Front 3

How has the female prison population changed over the years?

Back 3

The number of female inmates has quadrupled over the past 20 years.

Front 4

How many of the female prison polulation are black or latins?

Back 4

54% of incarcerated females are Black or Latina.

Front 5

First goal of punishment

Back 5

General deterrence. The punishment of an offender is assumed to discourage other potential lawbreakers.

Front 6

Second Goal of punishment

Back 6

Individual deterrence. Punishment of the offender is presumed to keep that person from committing other crimes in the future.

Front 7

Third Goal of punishment

Back 7

Incapacitation. If a convicted offender is sent to prison, society can feel safe from that felon while he or she is confined.

Front 8

Fourth Goal of punishment

Back 8

Retribution. Offenders should not benefit from their crimes; rather, they should receive their “just deserts.”

Front 9

Fifth Goal of punishment

Back 9

Moral outrage. Punishment can give society a means of catharsis and relief from the feelings of frustration, hurt, loss, and anger that result from being victims of crime.

Front 10

Sixth Goal of punishment

Back 10

Rehabilitation. The hope that offenders will recognize the error of their ways and develop new skills, values, and lifestyles.

Front 11

Seventh Goal of punishment

Back 11

Restitution. Wrongdoers should compensate victims for their damages and losses.

Front 12

Utilitarian goals
(e.g., compensating the victim, incapacitating or rehabilitating the defendant)

Back 12

Have a practical objective; they right the wrongs of past misconduct and reduce the likelihood of future criminal behavior.

Front 13

Reason for retributive approaches?

Back 13

-involve looking back at the offense and determining what the criminal “deserves” as a consequence of committing it.
-The notion of retribution implies that an offender deserves to be punished and that the punishment should be proportionate to the severity of the wrongdoing.

Front 14

Goals of punishment include what approaches?

Back 14

Utilitarian, Retributive, Deterence & Moral outrage (sub category to Retributive)

Front 15

Peoples true preference for punishment is determined by?

Back 15

Retribution- their sense of what an offender deserves.

Front 16

What do people SAY there preferences are regarding punishment?

Back 16

Responding to opinion polls, people are more likely to indicate support for punishment that deters criminals than punishment that exacts retribution.

Front 17

The Purposes of Punishment:
What is the Purpose of Moral Outrage

Back 17

One of the retributive goals, it allows society the satisfaction of knowing that offenders have been made to pay for the harms they caused. For a sentence to be acceptable to the public, it must reflect society’s outrage. Imposing a shaming penalty will make punishment more acceptable to the public and more meaningful to offenders.

Front 18

The goals of restorative justice are?

Back 18

To repair the harm and restore the losses caused by offensive activity, encourage offenders to assume responsibility for their actions, and empower victims and the community to move beyond feelings of
vulnerability and loss to a sense of understanding and closure.

Front 19

The American Bar Association has urged judges to do what?

Back 19

provide alternatives to incarceration for offenders who might benefit from them

Front 20

Studies reveal widespread support for restorative sentencing options such as?

Back 20

restitution, community service, and compensation but only for less serious offenses and younger offenders.

Front 21

For adult offenders, particularly those who have committed serious crimes, the public tends to favor a sentence that is?

Back 21

proportionate to the severity of the crime.

Front 22

What is Judicial Discretion in Sentencing

Back 22

Many legislators believe that judges should have little or no discretion. They emphasize retribution and argue that the punishment should fit the crime. Mandatory sentences, sentencing guidelines, and the abolition of parole are the primary ingredients here.Other legislators say that judges should have discretion to make the sentence fit not only the crime but the criminal as well.

Front 23

What is determinate sentencing?

Back 23

Type of scentencing that some states have in which offenders are sentenced for a fixed length of time. Here judges have little choice about the length of sentences, and there is no parole

Front 24

As a means of reducing the weight of descretion some states have done what?

Back 24

Some states impose mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses, including drug crimes.
These policies require judges to sentence offenders to a minimum number of years in prison regardless of any extenuating circumstances.

Front 25

Current federal sentencing policy is based on?

Back 25

the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 that abolished parole and established a Sentencing Commission to develop mandatory sentencing guidelines.

Front 26

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court decided?

Back 26

That the mandatory nature of the guidelines was unconstitutional (U.S. v. Booker, 2005).
Federal sentencing guidelines are now advisory.

Front 27

According to the focal concerns theory of judicial decision making, judges focus on what three concerns when sentencing?

Back 27

1) blameworthiness (i.e., the defendant’s culpability);
2) protection of the community (emphasizing incapacitation and general deterrence), and
3) practical constraints and consequences of the sentence (including concerns about disrupting ties to children and other family members).

Front 28

Have determinate scentencing and determinate scentencing guidlines been succesful?

Back 28

Determinate sentencing and sentencing guidelines have been only minimally successful in reducing racial disparity.

Front 29

Another factor that influences judicial sentencing patterns is?

Back 29

the way a conviction came about: whether by guilty plea, bench trial, or jury trial.

-Defendants who were convicted by a jury received the longest sentences.

Front 30

Defendants who plead guilty are often given?

Back 30

a reduced sentence, partly to encourage a guilty plea which reduces costs for court time.

Front 31

*Sentencing has several components:
The judge receives a file on the offender that contains information about the offender’s personal history and prior convictions (if any).
The judge reviews the file before the sentencing hearing.

Back 31

*Sentencing has several components:
At the hearing, recommendations for a sentence are presented to the judge first by the prosecutor and second by the defense attorney. Judges’ sentencing decisions are highly influenced by the prosecutor’s request (the initial request serves as an anchor).

Front 32

In addition to demands from the prosecutor and defense attorney, the judge also look at?

Back 32

a probation officer’s report and recommendation.

Front 33

*The judge may ask the offender questions and will usually permit the offender to make a statement.
In some cases, a forensic mental health professional may provide input.

Back 33

*On the basis of these sources of information and taking sentencing options into account, the judge then delivers a sentence.

Front 34

How many of those whose cases are adjudicated in juvenile court are found to be delinquent and moved to the sentencing, or dispositional phase of the case?

Back 34

Approximately 60%

Front 35

Dispositional hearings typically combine what?

Back 35

Adversarial procedures and attention to the particular needs—social, psychological, physical—of the child.

Front 36

More than half of all juvenile offenders are sentenced to what?

Back 36

sentenced to probation.

Front 37

The goals of juvenile court dispositions (ensuring public safety and addressing children’s needs) are reflected in what?

Back 37

The seven options available to juvenile court judges.

Front 38

The seven options available to juvenile court judges are:
1) probation at home;
2) probation in the home of a relative or foster home;
3) probation and restitution to the victims or community;

Back 38

4) house arrest;
5) detention then probation;
6) placement in a group home, drug treatment program, or boot camp; and
7) placement in a correctional facility.

Front 39

What is Blended Sentencing ?

Back 39

Juveniles who meet the criteria for transfer to adult criminal court are typically sentenced under blended sentencing statutes that combine the options available in juvenile court with those used in criminal court.

Front 40

What happens to people in blended sentencing that commit a new crime?

Back 40

They can also be subjected to harsher sentences if they commit new offenses, violate probation, or fail to respond to rehabilitation efforts.

Front 41

Can a judge sentence a juvenile to a life sentence?

Back 41

Judges can also impose adult sanctions—sometimes very lengthy prison sentences—on offenders who were under 18 when they committed a serious crime.

Front 42

Offenses in which juveniles are typically tried as an adult:

Back 42

convicted of murder, attempted murder, or felony murder (meaning they participated in a crime involving a murder but did not do the killing themselves).

Front 43

Why are sex offenders often treated differently than other offenders?

Back 43

Sex offenders are often treated differently than others based on the belief that they are more likely to reoffend.

Front 44

Examples that show how sex offenders are treated differently:

Back 44

1) After prison, sex offenders are often required to participate in registration and notification procedures;
2) After prison, sex offenders can be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility; and
3) Sex offenders can be subjected to extraordinary sanctions, including chemical or surgical castration.

Front 45

*Registration and Notification:
Convicted sex offenders are required to register with local law enforcement after they are released from prison and also required to notify authorities of subsequent changes of address.

Back 45

*Community notification laws allow states to disseminate information about convicted sex offenders to the public.
-Community notification has led to harassment and vigilantism directed at sex offenders, and has interfered with offenders’ ability to find stable work and housing.

Front 46

What is Involuntary Commitment?

Back 46

A second form of sanction on repeat sex offenders is involuntary commitment to a mental health facility after the prison term has been completed. The leading case on this topic is Kansas v. Hendricks (1997).

Front 47

As of 2007, how many states had enacted some form of civil proceedings for the involuntary commitment of sex offenders?

Back 47

20

Front 48

What is Involuntary Commitment?
The U.S. Supreme Court has also said that individuals subjected to Sexually Violent Predator laws must be unable to control their behavior and thus, likely to commit future sexually violent crimes

Back 48

*The Supreme Court’s rulings on the Sexually Violent Predator Act make clear that selected individuals must have a “mental abnormality” or personality disorder that predisposes them to sexual violence.

Front 49

The risk of sexual reoffending is typically determined how?

Back 49

via actuarial risk assessment instruments that include measures of deviant sexual preferences and persistent antisocial behaviors.

Front 50

Unlike other offenders, sex offenders are often required to do what?

Back 50

undergo treatment designed to “cure” them of their antisocial tendencies. For example, offenders sentenced to prison are required to participate in offender treatment programs or give up hope of parole.

Front 51

How many states allow execution?

Back 51

35

Front 52

How do we know that support for capital punishment may be waning?

Back 52

The American Bar Association has called for a nationwide moratorium on capital punishment and a few states have abolished or are considering the abolishment of the death penalty.

Front 53

Death penalty trials have two phases which are?

Back 53

a guilt phase and a sentencing phase

Front 54

To remedy the problem of unnecessary death sentences states passed what what two statutes?

Back 54

1) Only certain crimes are eligible for the death penalty.
2) The trial is now conducted in two phases (a guilt phase and a sentencing phase).

Front 55

During the sentencing phase, the jury hears evidence of what?

Back 55

aggravating factors and mitigating factors.

Front 56

Aggravating factors are?

Back 56

elements of the crime, such as killing in an especially brutal or heinous manner, that make the defendant more likely to receive a death sentence.

Front 57

Mitigating factors are?

Back 57

elements of the defendant’s background or the crime, such as the defendant’s mental capacity, that make life imprisonment the more appropriate verdict.

Front 58

How many of those sentenced to death may actually be innocent?

Back 58

2.3% of those sentenced to death may actually be innocent

Front 59

How many falsely blamed people have been released from prison and their death penalty sentence?

Back 59

130 people have been freed from death rows upon proof of their innocence.

Front 60

Justifications for the Death Penalty
Proponents of this position suggest that:
1) the death penalty accomplishes general, as well as specific, deterrence;

Back 60

2) highly publicized executions have at least a short-term deterrent effect; and
3) murderers are such dangerous people that allowing them to live increases the risk of injury or death to other inmates and prison guards

Front 61

Social scientists have evaluated the deterrent effects of the death penalty, and their studies consistently lead to the conclusion that the death penalty does not affect the rate of crimes of violence

Back 61

The death penalty is administered in only a minority of states and within those states, only in a subset of eligible cases. Its determinants often seem inconsistent and unpredictable. For example, the chance of a death sentence is greater for criminals who kill Whites than for those who kill Blacks.

Front 62

The Selection of Jurors in Capital Cases: “Death Qualification” Juries usually decide the sentence in capital cases, essentially choosing either life imprisonment or death for the defendant.

Back 62

The Selection of Jurors in Capital Cases: “Death Qualification” When jurors are empanelled to serve on cases in which the death penalty is being sought, they are required to answer voir dire questions about their attitudes toward capital punishment in a procedure called death qualification.

Front 63

The Selection of Jurors in Capital Cases: “Death Qualification”. Prospective jurors are excluded if their opposition to capital punishment would prevent or substantially impair the performance of their duties as jurors (Wainwright v. Witt, 1985).

Back 63

The Selection of Jurors in Capital Cases: “Death Qualification”. These prospective jurors are termed “excludables,” and those who remain are termed “death qualified.” Those who would automatically impose the death penalty are also dismissed.

Front 64

The Selection of Jurors in Capital Cases: “Death Qualification”. Death-qualified juries are more disposed toward conviction than juries that include jurors with scruples against the death penalty. (See Witherspoon v. Illinois, 1968 for more on this issue.)

Back 64

Comprehension of Jury Instructions in Capital Cases
Several studies indicate that jurors do not adequately comprehend the instructions they receive about mitigating factors.If jurors do not understand these instructions, they are more likely to rely on other factors to guide their verdicts, such as racial stereotypes or sympathy for victims.

Front 65

Comprehension of Jury Instructions in Capital Cases
Wiener et al. (2004) found that jurors’ declarative and procedural knowledge of the instructions improved if they:
1) simplified the language of the instructions,
2) presented the instructions in a flowchart format

Back 65

Comprehension of Jury Instructions in Capital Cases
3) gave jurors the chance to review and practice using the instructions in a mock case, and
4) offered corrections to common misconceptions that jurors have about aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

Front 66

Limiting Use of the Death Penalty
MENTAL RETARDATION: The Court declared that it was cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, to execute mentally retarded individuals (Atkins v. Virginia, 2002).

Back 66

Limiting Use of the Death Penalty
YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS: In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that it was cruel and unusual to execute any person who was younger than 18 at the time of the crime (Roper v. Simmons, 2005).

Front 67

Limiting Use of the Death Penalty
MENTAL ILLNESS: In Panetti v. Quarterman (2007), the Supreme Court ruled that defendants may not be executed if they do not understand why they are being put to death.

Back 67

fff