Mandatory sentencing

Much of my time at the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office has been spent with the Family Court lawyers, who work with juveniles. Family Court, unlike General Sessions court for adults, is supposed to be rehabilitative rather than punitive. It attempts to match juveniles and their families with services provided by the state of South Carolina like substance abuse counseling, positive peer groups and Department of Mental Health counselling. The goal is getting these young students back in…

As if the consequences of alcohol prohibition could not be forgotten soon enough, the 1970s unshackled the ‘safety at any cost’ mentality of policymakers in Washington with a regained sense of restrictive goodwill. Yes, a land world renowned for its respect of individual rights reinstituted coercive public policy historically marred with disaster and unintended consequences. The government of the United States, yet again in denial of bodily autonomy, demonized another inanimate object in an…

Texas Criminal Justice System Texas is the second largest state in the United States (U.S.) by both its area and population and is geographically located in the south central part of the U.S. The Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments that is directed at upholding social control, deterring and alleviating crime, or sanctioning those who violate the laws by criminal penalties and the efforts to rehabilitate them. Those who have been accused of crime have…

states have passed several pieces of legislation to suppress and deter gang activity instead of implementing intervention and prevention methods (Decker, 2003; Green & Pranis, 2007; Klein & Maxson, 2006). Examples include gang sentencing enhancements that adhere a mandatory prison time, increased policing in gang neighborhoods, specialized units, education programs to youth to bring awareness of the dangers of gang membership, and civil injunctions to prohibit certain gang members from certain…

always and continues to be a corrective plan of action for violations that range from a minor assault to murder. In the case of capital punishment – a process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes (capital crimes)(bsj.gov), punishment for such crimes can range from lengthy prison time to death penalty sentencing. The citing below will delve into the justification or lack thereof on how this kind of punishment is administered through the justice systems in states…

University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI website: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1160&context=srhonorsprog Ministry of Justice. (2010, December). Breaking the cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119200607/http:/www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/docs/breaking-the-cycle.pdf Petersilia, J. (2011, October). Beyond the prison bubble. Retrived from the National…

the Midwest and Southwest was the first to pass anti-marijuana laws and focused on Mexican migrants and Mexican Americans. Today, African American and Latino communities are still the subject of wildly disproportionate drug enforcement and tough sentencing laws. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed making the possession and use of marijuana a…

Brock Turner, Swimmer By Day Sex Offender By Night “You don’t know me, but youve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today”. These powerful words were spoken by the victim of Brock Turner’s wicked rape case. In 2015 Brock Turner sexually assaulted “ Emily Doe” behind a dumpster prior to participating in underage drinking at a frat party. After he was caught in the act, he was initially charged with three felony charges of sexual assault. His judge knew jail would have a “severe impact” on…

Drug Court Effectiveness and Recidivism of Participants According to the results from the 2013 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring II (ADAM II) survey (2014), between two-thirds and three-quarters of all adults males arrested were at risk for drug dependence; as few as one-quarter had sought any type of treatment for drug or alcohol use. (p. xiv). Traditionally, the criminal justice system focused on enforcement and incarceration to reduce drug-related crime, but recidivism has remained high. An…

In the very early morning of January 18, 2015, two Stanford graduate students were biking across campus when they spotted a freshman engaging in sexual acts, such as thrusting himself into an unconscious, half naked women behind a dumpster at the Kappa Alpha fraternity house. They quickly chased down the culprit and pinned him down until the police came and detained the young male. Given the situation, the students alongside with many others in the nation, as the news abruptly went viral, must…