Sentencing

Retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation and restoration are the five major goals of sentencing. The essence of sentencing is supported by national consensus and penological justifications. Each objective commonly overlaps and successful outcomes include crime reduction, recidivism, and public safety. The principle of retributive justice seeks to punish in proportion according to social attitudes of just deserts, compensation or accountability for criminal acts. Retributive…

There are over two million inmates in our nation’s prison system and sentencing has always been a reflection of the current sentiments of society. Before the introduction of determinate sentencing in the early eighties, the States followed an indeterminate sentencing model. It was the pressure from society to have the “punishment fit the crime” that caused our justice system to make changes in their sentencing guidelines. With these changes came mandatory minimums, when most prisoners were…

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Introduction 2 2. Sentencing during the Apartheid Era________________________________________2 3. Sentencing now and how judges determine the extent of the sentence____________3 3.1 The purpose of punishment and sentencing________________________________3 3.2 The different forms of punishment_______________________________________3 3.3 How judges determine the extent of a sentence_____________________________4 4. Restorative vs. Retributive approach 4 5. The Death Penalty: A…

Caravelis, Ted Chiricos, and William Bales (2011) called “Static and Dynamic Indicators of Minority Treat in Sentencing Outcomes: A Multi-Level Analysis” and the second article is called “Sentencing with Discretion:Crack Cocaine Sentencing after Booker” by Ryan S. King and Marc Mauer in 2006. In addition, the last article is by Mona Lynch and Marisa Omori (2014) called “Legal Change and Sentencing Norms in the Wake of Booker: The Impact of Time and Place on Drug Trafficking Cases in Federal…

state governments could threaten that very premise. Three strikes sentencing laws seek to break a cycle of recidivism from career criminals, but ensnare minorities and the poor at a disproportionate rate when compared to those not in need and whites in the United States. In order to understand the how these laws affect minorities and the poor it is important to first understand the history behind why governments pass such harsh sentencing laws. Equally important are the demographic statistics of…

Over 90 percent of the people that are convicted of felonies give up the right to be judged by a jury of his or her peers once they proceed to plead guilty. In the majority of the cases, these people plead guilty for something in exchange. Plea bargaining is an arrangement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge in the expectation of a lesser punishment. This casually happens when the defendant sees no other option by the prosecutor, but to…

I do believe that sentencing and potential interventions should be change in general for both groups. “Assisting juveniles to grow out of crime...are key policy areas for building safer communities” and this is where the United States needs to start making changes in the criminal sentencing (Richards, 2011, 4). Implementing more rehabilitation methods during this age seems to be the logical course of action…

Harsh minimum sentencing practices around drug offences exist because of the Reagan administration’s rhetoric that blamed drugs as the primary cause of violent crime in the US during the 1980s. Prior to Reagan’s “War on Drugs” era, drug crime in the US was relatively minor, however, beginning in 1980, the number of prisoners in jail for drug related offences skyrocketed. While there were just 41,100 of these prisoners in 1980, by 2010 that number had tripled, an increase of 1,100%. One of the…

On the 8th of November I visited Oxford crown court; whilst I had previously attended various levels of courts to witness trials, I had never watched a sentencing. Therefore, intrigued to see the process, I decided to watch the sentencing of Tom Mobey. Immediately upon entering the courtroom I noticed a very different atmosphere to trial, one that was much more private and personal. There was a limited number of people in court: just the two opposing counsel, a clerk, the defendant and his…

My sentence for Steve would be community service, probation ,and home confinement. In the state of Ohio a third degree felony is punishable with a 1-5 year prison term and the maximum fine is $10,000. However, considering that Steve has no criminal record he would not get as harsh as a sentence if he did have a criminal record. I would give Steve more of a stern sentence because hazing seems to be a big issue on the campus. If complete leniency is given other people might continue to haze…