Sentencing

actions killed three people and injured 260 other spectators who were watching runners cross the finish line on this mournfully historic day. Now almost two years later, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is giving his jury a hard decision between sentencing him to life in prison and sentencing him to death. The New York Times article entitled, “Question in Boston Bombing Trial: For Tsarnaev to Testify or Not,” discusses whether or not Tsarnaev should be allowed to testify in his case. This article opens with…

Surely at least some of those put onto death row for murder had their reasons for doing what they did. Whether it be good reasons or not, it made sense to them. Well, sentencing someone to capital punishment is in effect killing them. Killing them brings you practically down to the same level as the accused. You are both killing for your own reasons. You both believed that someone deserved to die and caused their life…

future (Gerber, 2014). Not knowing what the death penalty consist of with regards to the sentencing would inflict less fear than if they face the consequences. In this case, many habitual criminals…

injection is not guaranteed effective. For instance, California’s technique of lethal injection had the risk of an inmate suffering extreme pain (Economist 2014, 2). If the death sentencing contains immense pain, the punishment should be considered cruel and…

that has been found guilty of a capitol offense instead of sentencing the accused to life in prison. Although most people believe that sentencing an inmate to death on a capital case is cheaper than life in prison for tax payers in the particular state where the inmate is being held, however research continues to state that this isn’t always the case. Therefore, sending the guilty party to prison for life is a better alternative to sentencing the defendant to death row, surprisingly. The…

According to the law, a minor or a juvenile is anyone who is below the legal adult age of 21 years old. In 2012, the Supreme Court decreed that any juvenile that has committed a heinous crime, such as murder or rape, could not be sentenced to death or to life in prison. I am against the death sentence because I feel that taking ones life to justify another’s is morally repugnant. Even if all teenagers grow and mature at a different pace, I agree with the minority who argued to retain the…

individual that can predict recidivism or not, which group they belong to – “high, medium or low-risk”, however it is challenging to identify where in the group an individual lie (Monahan & Skeem, 2015). Therefore, if risk assessment is a part of the sentencing process it could mean an unequal…

Retribution vs Reformation Beginning in the 1970’s, prison reform in the United States lead to trend of soaring incarceration rates. These reforms, which took place through the 1990’s, led to stricter federal sentencing laws and guidelines, which in turn increased enforcement as well as imprisonment rates. Since 1980, the prison population in the United States has more than quadrupled in size. As of 2015, there were over two million people in prison, which means one out of every one hundred…

Cullen also states that there are many disparities in sentencing, which has mostly affected minorities. He explains how affluent whites have the opportunities and the necessary resources to move away from neighborhood as they wish, while minorities and the poor are stuck in crime infested urban cities. Cullen…

Mainly because of Marijuana sentencing was so high, the “war on drugs” significantly influenced sentencing and corrections. “Expansion of criminal sanctions for drug crimes began in the 1970s but picked up speed in the 1980s with the declaration of “war on drugs” and the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and…