Sentencing

Is the war on drugs a complete failure of a policy that has not deterred drug use, has some racists roots, hurt innocents, ruined lives and is a waste of money? The policy has been in place for over forty years and we are no closer to ending it than we were forty years ago. Has the policy that has cost the United States over a trillion dollars yielded any results? According to an opt-ed by Buchanan, Julian “the war on drug is nothing but a war on drug users.” Even though it was in reference to…

criminal system that is unjust for many. It was in 2007 when the U.S. Sentencing Commission, after “lobbying Congress in vain for ten years to remedy the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses” (Kosman 786), successfully added a ‘crack amendment’ to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The amendment attempted to decrease the sentences of some defendants who had been convicted of crack cocaine offenses, and the Sentencing Commission was able to make the policy retroactive,…

What is Gender Gap in Offender Sentencing? Disparity in gender offender sentencing revolves around female defendants irrespective of backgrounds reciving less sever sentences as compared to male defendants in the same category of offence as well as having similar backgrounds. The disparities also touch in the disagreements on whether women are actually favoured as compared to men in offender sentencing. Therefore, gender gaps in offender sentencing can be explained by the pervasiveness found in…

A jury may also exercise the sentencing guidelines are usually imposed by the judge in most cases, but sentencing or it can be mandated by a statue; such as, mandatory prison sentence for certain crimes. There are various forms of sentences that are to be reviewed: concurrent and consecutive sentences, good time, sentencing sanctions, sentencing models, indeterminate sentences, determine sentences, structured sentences, feral sentencing guidelines, mandatory minimum sentences, and that…

Determinant sentencing Determinate sentencing includes condemning rules, compulsory least sentences, and improved sentences for specific wrongdoings(Determinate, 2018). Condemning rules enable judges to consider the individual conditions of the situation while deciding a sentence, though compulsory least and improved sentence statutes leave practically no caution to judges in setting the terms of a sentence.(Determinate, 2018) Indetermanate Sentencing the term Indetermanate Sentencing forced…

Public policies that impact the criminal justice system are often a result of emotion and ideology (a system of ideas that seem natural or are taken for granted) rather than research. For example, in the clip from Gunned Down, the Columbine High School shooting provoked a lot of emotion in the public, mostly due to the display of images and videos of the deaths of innocent young people (mostly white and affluent) in a school – a seemingly safe environment. As a result, numerous protests erupted…

example of how minimum sentencing causes people to be punished disproportionately to their crimes. Aristotle would call this an inequity our justice system. He defines equity as a “rectification of the law where the law falls short by reason of its universality.” However, minimum sentencing does not allow room for this rectification of the law. Consequently, minimum sentencing is not in line with Aristotle’s principle of equity, which is critical to true justice. Minimum sentencing ignores…

value is designated by their race and how wealthy they are. After examining Couch’s trial and sentencing, it is also clear that both race and wealth played a large factor in the leniency he experienced. Because he is not only white, but also wealthy, Couch, and other individuals, become exempt to many of the injustices that other minorities experience. Had Couch been another race or less affluent, his sentencing would have been extremely different. Although many individuals have trouble…

The ECHR and Mandatory Sentencing The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty established for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (reference goes here) The European Court of Human Rights established this by drawing upon inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The ECHR ratified this treaty and continually ensures all 47 articles contained in the doctrine are adhered to by all member states. (reference goes here) If we look at the…

are more people incarcerated than ever before, or that’s what the statistics say anyways. Over the past few decades, the government has been cracking down on chronic offenders by enacting policies such as the mandatory sentencing laws, three-strikes laws, and the truth-in-sentencing laws that lock them up for longer periods of time. These laws have created multiple shifts in society that principally affect where money is spent. These so-called “get tough” laws have become a problem for society…