Every modern society, culture, race, and religion share one commonality. That commonality is laws. Laws are one of the most foundational pieces of a society. They serve to maintain the balance of order and security, and to prevent total disillusion and anarchy. Laws are made to establish what is acceptable and what is wrong. When laws are broken, there comes consequences. While every society develops and establishes laws, the consequences do vary based on cultures. Two crimes will be analyzed rape and murder. The crimes will be analyzed on the average length of prison sentence, if there is any difference in punishment based on race or sex, and whether it is punishable by death or not. The crimes will also be analyzed based on the three countries
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In the United States of America, one crime that has had lots of attention lately in media and that is the crime of rape. This crime has been polarized lately due to many women and some men finally speaking out about their abusers in Hollywood. But what is the legal definitions of rape? According to the United States Justice Department in an online article called “An Updated Definition of Rape”, the legal definition of rape in the United States remained unchanged since the 1920’s, and only changed until recently when in the year 2012 it was updated. The current legal definition of rape in the United States is now known as “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person without consent of the victim” (justice.org). This definition now clearly outlines the offense that can be perpetrated on all sexes and provides a basis of what the crime entails. It also acknowledges the use of objects as a tool in the heinous act. In a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, called “An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault” analyzed the prison population in the country. The study was able to conclude that the average prison sentence for a convicted rapist was ten years. While they were sentenced to ten years, many were able to get off with parole after about 5 years. The study also found that the vast majority of the offenders in 1994 were males, 99.6% and .4% for females. Of those who committed the crime, 52.2% were white, 43.7% were black, and 4.1% were other. (bjs.gov). While these numbers and statistics are from the 90’s, they do provide a stark image of the those who commit this crime and how long they serve in the United States, which also answers the question of what the average sentence is and who commits the crime. There are few crimes in the US that capital punishment can be used
In the United States of America, one crime that has had lots of attention lately in media and that is the crime of rape. This crime has been polarized lately due to many women and some men finally speaking out about their abusers in Hollywood. But what is the legal definitions of rape? According to the United States Justice Department in an online article called “An Updated Definition of Rape”, the legal definition of rape in the United States remained unchanged since the 1920’s, and only changed until recently when in the year 2012 it was updated. The current legal definition of rape in the United States is now known as “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person without consent of the victim” (justice.org). This definition now clearly outlines the offense that can be perpetrated on all sexes and provides a basis of what the crime entails. It also acknowledges the use of objects as a tool in the heinous act. In a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, called “An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault” analyzed the prison population in the country. The study was able to conclude that the average prison sentence for a convicted rapist was ten years. While they were sentenced to ten years, many were able to get off with parole after about 5 years. The study also found that the vast majority of the offenders in 1994 were males, 99.6% and .4% for females. Of those who committed the crime, 52.2% were white, 43.7% were black, and 4.1% were other. (bjs.gov). While these numbers and statistics are from the 90’s, they do provide a stark image of the those who commit this crime and how long they serve in the United States, which also answers the question of what the average sentence is and who commits the crime. There are few crimes in the US that capital punishment can be used