Sentencing College Essays Samples For Students

Introduction

Alternative sentencing makes way for committers of minor crimes and those with no criminal records to transform and comply with varied ethical standards as laid out by the state. With enhanced supervision as an alternative to incarceration, court administrators are involved in monitoring activities such as substance abuse treatment, random drug testing and community services performed by the offenders. The probation officers have to work closely with the Office of Community Corrections to ensure that the benchmarks set by the judges are met and that the offenders are able to contribute to long term growth and stability of the ...

Federal Sentencing Guidelines

First, the court determines the guideline applicable to the offense committed by convicted defendant. In cases where the defendant offers a plea that establishes the commission of a more serious offense, the defendant is deemed to have committed extra offenses. However, the guidelines are not applied to misdemeanors and infractions. The base offense level is then determined according to the characteristics of the committed offense and any special instruction in the specific guideline applied. Adjustments are then made according to the harm done to the victim, the role played by the defendant in the offense, and any obstruction of ...

Sentencing may be described as the decision of action taken against one convicted of an offense. Sentencing is obviously an important decision in the criminal justice process, and has evolved with it. Society has traditionally responded to criminal acts by handing over a punishment to the offender. In the implementation of sentencing, a conflict is evident between the goals of equal justice and the individualized justice with punishment to the offender, in line with the interpretation of the criminal law. It should be noted here that there is an element of reflex in our concept of punishment. Human beings have a tendency ...

Role of Sentencing Philosophies

Sentencing philosophies have evolved over time. As these philosophies have evolved, so have correctional practices to accommodate the various types of punishment imposed upon those convicted of criminal offenses.
Indeterminate sentencing started losing favor in 1970s for a number of reasons. Indeterminate sentencing allowed parole officers and judges to be too lenient in the way they handle convicted criminals at the expense of the safety of the public. When violent offenders receive lenient treatments, the public is more likely to be infuriated since these criminals are prone to commit more heinous crimes. Additionally, indeterminate sentencing allows for the application ...

Introduction

Asked to stereotype a criminal, many people are likely to go for a certain gender (usually male), a certain social class (usually low class), a certain race (usually black) and a certain age (usually under the age of 30). In the early days, courtrooms exclusively comprised of white decision makers. Today there is more racial diversity in the composition of judicial benches. In spite of this progress; race, class and gender still play a critical role in numerous criminal justice outcomes. The role of these issues usually comes in handy in the sentencing of convicts. More than 40 studies have been conducted in regard to ...

FAIR SENTENCING ACT OF 2010

The continued criminalization of drugs remains a controversial issue in this nation. When a defendant is convicted of a drug offense, a sentencing table establishes the appropriate sentencing guidelines based on the defendant’s particular criminal history (Parks 2012, pp. 1110-1111). To respond to allegations of unfairness in sentencing, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 into law in August of 2010 (Fair Sentencing Act of 2010). Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) first introduced the bill in October 2009 (Caldwell 2011 p. 26).
The fair Sentencing Act of 2010 made a number of significant changes to federal sentencing ...

Magistrates and judges must take into consideration a wide variety of factors in determining the sentencing of offenders. The sentence must primarily coincide with the statutory guidelines that implicated in the Crimes Act 1999 (Sentencing Procedure) (NSW), and guidelines set out by the judicial system that creates precedent for all the magistrates and judges within the country. In regards to the extent of the law the purpose of sentencing fundamentally include, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence. In regards to victims, the challenge in achieving a balance in the rights into consideration is their right to make their object complaint fully without ...

Over the last several decades, the criminal justice system has undergone historic transformations in the thinking and practice of sentencing and corrections. The basic facts are these: Throughout much of the 20th century, the guiding principle of corrections was rehabilitation, a utilitarian philosophy of criminal justice implemented through indeterminate sentencing models. The idea behind this approach was that the duration of incarceration was immaterial, so long as offenders emerged from prison rehabilitated. The 1970s gave way to a new approach, “just deserts” a philosophy grounded in the idea that sentencing and corrections should prioritize retribution over offender rehabilitation. The ...

Reduction of crime is the dream of any criminal justice system. In the era where the rate of crime has significantly increased due to the use of sophisticated weapons and technology, there is an increasing necessity for the government and other stakeholders to ensure that such crimes are minimized. Having strict punishment mechanisms is one of the strategies geared towards the reduction of crimes. In Canada, this approach is the most common. Its proponents give a two-fold argument about its role in reducing crime. First, they argue that the offender is ‘locked behind bars’, hence temporarily separated from the ...

Abstract

Mandatory Sentencing takes away the benefit of considering the circumstances involved when arriving at the sentence against the specific crime. This article discusses the disadvantages of “Mandatory Sentencing” on the basis of “Mandatory Sentencing” beating the very purpose of Justice, “Mandatory Sentencing” prevents rehabilitation of Prisoners by denying Parole and the financial impact on state and families of offenders undergoing “Mandatory Sentencing”
Keywords: Mandatory Sentencing, Probation, and Special category offenders.

Justice is defined as the proper administration of the law, the fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law. The very objective of “Justice” is punishment, ...

Several factors have led to the rapid changes in sentencing structures in the United States. According to Latessa and Smith: “Following a very long period of relative inactivity (1930-1974), American sentencing laws and practices began to undergo rapid change, a fundamental restructuring of the sentencing process” (2015, p. 19). This is supported by Phelps (2011, p. 33), who argued that “Scholars of mass incarceration point to the 1970s as a pivotal turning point in US penal history, marked by a shift towards more punitive policies and a consensus that ‘nothing works’ in rehabilitating inmates.”
Four main factors have been ...

It is a natural corollary of criminal justice that if there is a crime, inevitably there will be a punishment. The idea of punishing a person for a crime is thought to be necessary for a number of reasons including retribution for the victim, deterrence to potential criminals, incapacitation of the convict, and rehabilitation of a convict in the hopes that he will refuse to commit the crime again. Punishment is usually imposed through a sentence or an official decree by a court allowing the state to take action against an individual found to be guilty (LII, n.d.). Since ...

My position on sentencing

After reading chapter three, I think the current sentencing system needs to be amended. Different crimes require different sentencing depending on the magnitude of the crime. Today, the most practiced sentencing is sending the lawbreakers to the jail. In my own opinion, we should have a variety of sentences, and not necessary jailing (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2009).

The purpose of sentencing

Over the years, sentencing has served different purposes. However, the primary purpose of sentencing is mainly to reprimand the lawbreaker. The first purpose of sentencing is to reduce crime by deterrence. When a criminal is sentenced, this prevents him or her from committing another crime. ...

Question One: Four Modern Sentencing Options

Sentences are punishments for convicted defendants. The prescription of punishments for crimes is found in both federal and state statutes. There are four traditional sanctions that can be imposed in the modern criminal justice system are; the death penalty, imprisonment, probation, and fines. They are discussed in the ensuing sections.

Death Penalty, this is the most extreme sentence option. In the United States, 38 states have laws that can impose capital punishment. Majority of these states use lethal injection while some use electrocution to end the life of the accused. The death penalty is usually reserved for very serious ...

The dual court system is perhaps among the most important and the most perplexing traits of the judicial structure and system in the United States. As a result of having a dual court system, both state and national levels of government in the United States have their own set of courts. Each state in the United States and the District of Columbia has its own separate court system, and the federal government has its own separate court system as well (Neubauer, 2002). The United States has a dual court system because of the federal system of government established by the United States ...

Question 1

According to Tregeagle and Orr (2003), they argued that there are many Australian children that at one point or another, during their influential years, are not be cared for adequately. For many, this is a brief period that passes however for some; this maltreatment lasts beyond theirtender years and impacts their life. The abuse of children can be defined as any non-accidental behaviour by any adult in the child’s life that causes physical or psychological harm. The behaviour can be intentional, such as abuse, or unintentional, such as neglect (Bromfield, 2005; (Christoffel et al., 1992).
It was meant ...

Introduction

Violent crimes are treated, especially harshly within the criminal justice system because the nature of the crime is severe and suggests that the offender is a danger to society. In cases involving murder the victims or family members of the victim also want the person who took a life to be given an equal punishment in most cases this means the offender will spend their life behind bars or in some states they will be given the death penalty. There are many different situations that can lead up to this type of harsh sentencing like if the person has ...

Victim Impact Statements

Victim impact statements provide the victim of a criminal act the opportunity to tell the judge about the effects of the crime for which the trial is being held (Minn. Dept. of Public Safety, 2011). This is something that may not arise during the course of a criminal trial, and it may present information that is relevant to the sentence imposed. The statement is given at the time of the sentencing or the juvenile dispositional hearing, and it is usually presented by the victim, family members or guardians, or the custodian of a minor or deceased individual. The statement may be presented ...

INTRODUCTION

Criminal homicide is the act of ending another person’s life by the hand of another (Luckenbill, 1977). There are many different ways in which criminal homicide is defined in the American criminal justice system; different degrees of what constitutes homicide, as well as other mitigating factors, can help to determine the sentencing of an individual or individuals who take part in the act, whether voluntarily or not. This is meant to apply as individualistic a sentencing as possible on the particular situation, instead of making standardized choices for criminal homicide on the whole. All of this leads to an ...

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide difference answers to this question?

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide different answers to this question?
Classical theories provide that punishment should fit the crime. In order for punishment to fit the crime, criminal law should provide reasonable penalties for crimes and the criminal justice system should apply these penalties in a reasonable manner (Akers, 1999). Scientific alternative interventions for criminal behavior point to pathways for fitting punishment to the criminal. Whether the punishment fits the crime or the punishment fits the criminal depends on which of the five sentencing philosophies govern the punishment of a crime.
Deterrence is one sentencing ...

In considering sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentencing, there are similarities and differences. The nuances of each, when comparing one to another, can be confusing. The inherent intent of both is to ensure fair and justified sentencing when considering certain offenses.
Among others, three significant purposes to both are that the punishment does not exceed the extent of the crime; that if the crime warrants, a mandatory minimum penalty should be assessed; and that given the offense, punishment is fair to all who commit a similar offense. Sentencing guidelines for federal offenses (addressed here as opposed to individual state ...

Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide judges with a recommended range of a sentence for a defendant. The sentencing guidelines consists of a guideline Manual that is used to determine the sentence by calculating a sentence range based on offense level and any relevant adjustments. When changes are made to sentencing guidelines, the Guideline Manual is adjusted to reflect the changes . This will ensure all sentencings after the changes have occurred are based upon the new changes to the guidelines. Changes in guidelines typically include a reduction in length of incarceration or probation.
Administration offices in both federal and state courts ...

Introduction

People commit a variety of crimes on a daily basis. Some crimes are minor incidents that do not have an extensive consequence or sentence to uphold by the offender. There are crimes that are committed that are in a higher bracket and these crimes have a more serious sentence. People often commit a crime for a number of reasons. Some crimes committed were not even done by the person who was charged in the incident. There needs to be proof or evidence that can place the alleged criminal at the crime scene when it accrued. It is important that ...

1) For low-risk offenders who pose minimal threat to public safety, there should be some sort of middle ground between imposing no punishment and imprisonment. Incarcerating all nonviolent offenders for minor crimes and offenses is simply not sustainable policy. The use of intermediate sanctions has gained popularity among the states as prison overcrowding continues to rise. Intermediate sanctions provide for great flexibility in tailoring the sanction to either be more lenient or severe based on the particular crime. All fifty states offer the intermediate sanction of house arrest as an alternative to prison (Tonry, 1997, p. 10).
2) The ...

For example Elizabeth L. Angeli, Department of Psychology, State University.

This research was supported in part by a grant from the Sample Grant
Program.
Angeli, Department of English, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 55555
The value of alternative sentencing
“Sentencing refers to the punishment that a judge imposes upon a defendant who has either plead guilty to a charge or who was convicted following a judge or jury trial (Nocuffs.com, n.d.).”
“Sentences for a criminal conviction can take many forms, and a conviction does not always mean a trip to prison. Alternative sentences can include different combinations of the following: a suspended sentence, ...

Criminal Justice

Introduction
Criminological perspectives encompass several arguments that explain the cause of crime. Understanding the cause of crime is relatively important in solving criminality, which the various criminological theories tend to clarify. The discussion will highlight the three criminological perspectives namely trait, social, and classical theories. Each perspective will be discussed followed by an argument regarding the two sentencing models and determine, which of the models is a more effective approach in addressing crime. Lastly, the discussion articulates the sentencing model, which is likely to have the most potential in reducing crime while linking to the discussion on the various ...

Over the past few decades, the sentencing process of the United States of America has undergone a lot of changes. These reforms have resulted in longer prison sentences, the stringent policies regarding imprisonment and determinate sentencing have resulted in a movement that advocates extending the time a prisoner spends in jail. These changes include policies concerning habitual offender laws, mandatory minimum sentencing and truth-in sentencing.
Laws regarding mandatory minimum sentences were becoming obsolete therefore, they had to be revised. The previous laws did not distinguish offenders into different categories. The prison population has also increased, owing to changes in the habitual ...

Statements made by the defendant’s impacts greatly on the sentence he will be subjected to. From the statement made, the judge can determine the behavior of the suspect from the way he talks and this could also be linked to the crimes the defendant is accused and it might determine the sentence. The ineligibility of the client for death penalty was arrived from the statements made by the defendants’ team; the judge was not able to validate and accept the evidence presented. The purpose of sentencing is to punish the accused accordingly to the existing legal provisions. Sentencing ...

Film Studies

The House I Live In is a compelling account of the manner in which America’s War on Drugs has devastates families and individuals especially those belonging to the minority community. It has targeted the poor and the jobless. The film portrays touching anecdotes of those directly impacted by drugs – be it the grieving mother to the drug dealer, the senator to the narcotics officer, the federal judge to the prison inmate. The film highlights this as a serious human rights issue and urges people to speak against the injustice taking place in this country.
The film in fact portrays ...

What are 5 variables evaluated by judicial authorities to sentence offenders?

Judicial authorities must consider each individual criminal case based on the facts of the crime when determining the type and length of punishment. Included in the facts are variety of variables that must be evaluated. The judge will consider whether the defendant is a first time criminal offender or a repeat offender. The judge will also consider the role the defendant played in the crime. The motives behind the offense may also be considered, as well as the extent of injuries suffered by the victim. Additionally, the judge will consider whether the defendant is remorseful about the crime committed. ...

How judges use power to get media attention.

Most Texan judges have adopted a strategy called creative to sentencing to win the attention of the citizens of a state. Creative sentencing refers to a punishment handed over by a judge that is abnormal and deviates from normal judgments. For instance, Judge Pinkey Carr once ordered Shena Hardin to stand at East 38th and Superior Avenue with a sign that declaimed: “Simply an idiot would drive on the subway to avoid a school bus”. In most cases, creative sentences are weird and; therefore, it will attract attention of the media and the public domain, and since the judiciary is sovereign, little can be done ...

Judicial Decision Making

Generally, courts function to solve rows between individuals, groups, corporate organizations and governments, and to interpret the law. They act to protect the rights of these individuals and groups in accordance with the constitution. As such, the first primary requisite for a successful judicial process is an independent court system where politics or other powers cannot influence the sentencing of any case in court. With such independence, the primary objective of protecting the law and delivering justice in the sentencing processes is easily achieved. Courts can be categorically placed into three broad classes in accordance to their involvement in justice ...

Plea/Verdict: Not guilty by reason of insanity/Guilty but insane (GBI)

Total Days in Jail: 248
Present Offences: The defendant has been found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, and possession of Schedule I drugs.
Penalty Range: O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1 (d), felony murder; punishable by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life. O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21 (c), aggravated assault upon a peace officer while the peace officer is engaged in his or her official duties; punishable by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years. O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40 (b), kidnapping, victim received bodily injury; punishable by life imprisonment or by death. O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1, kidnapping ...

Audience: Drivers who believe that there should be lenient sentencing for first time offenders, or who are otherwise against mandatory confinement laws.
Message: We should carefully consider, and set legal statutes based on the benefits of implementing a mandatory jail sentence of a minimum of two weeks for all drunk driving offenders.
Purpose: To get people to see that there are advantages to requiring a minimum 2 week jail sentence on all drivers arrested for DUI.

The question of how best to both punish and rehabilitate drunk driving offenders has been a topic of serious debate for more than 30 years. ...

Sentence Enhancement

Sentence enhancement occurs in cases where the law allows judges to increase the sentence that, usually, applies to a given crime. Various situations result in increased sentencing for offenders. First, sentence enhancement is allowed in cases where an offender has one or extra prior sentence during the time when they are being accorded a current conviction. Another situation where enhanced sentencing occurs is in cases of habitual offenders. Precisely, this occurs in cases where an offender has committed more than two felony crimes. The third situation where sentence enhancement occurs is in cases whereby an offender used a deadly weapon to commit a ...

This paper illustrates in detail on the issues of mandatory sentencing as an aspect that is not deterrent to some crimes. It is general practice in many States, in United Sates of America that the panel of adjudicators is limited to passing some degree of sentences to individuals liable of crimes (Ohio Parole Board Handbook, 2012). As a result, there is a lighthearted push to bring about changes in crime laws so that special category offenders’ rights are a consideration. The idea is that given the “special” tag” these individual are qualified for parole meaning they do not have to serve their ...

The term ‘actus reus’ refers to the physical component of the crime, while ‘mens rea’ addresses the mental aspect of the offence. Situations, when the alleged perpetrator has the actus reus, but lack mens rea can be different, and a solution depends on the constituent components of a particular crime. First of all, strict liability offences and a range of other offences that differ across statutes and common law under different jurisdictions do not require proving mens rea. Strict liability often refers to minor offences (e.g., selling alcohol to an under-aged individual), where it is hard to determine the ...

The goals of retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration are all primary goals of those within the criminal justice system. In sentencing individuals charged with specific criminal actions the philosophic principles that such decisions are based upon should be considered. Through the use of methods such as fines, probation, imprisonment, and death the criminal justice system has utilized a variety of measures in order to more effectively enact justice. These measures have, furthermore, been broadly adopted in relation to the financial, social, and international context that the criminal system was established within. Concerns such as the impact that these ...

Victims and Crime Evaluation

Victims and Crime Evaluation

Introduction

The criminal justice system is used as a guide to maintain law and justice in the world. The criminal justice system ensures that all the branches of the government are used to maintain law and order by controlling and deterring crime, upholding social control, and sanctioning the people who have violated the law with criminal punishments/penalties, and rehabilitation efforts. The criminal justice system comprises of three primary elements that are, the courts, the legislative, and corrections (Siegel & Senna, 2005). In the central bodies of the criminal justice system, each one of them has individuals that ...

One of the most significant issues in the U.S. today is the systemic policies that have led to the U.S. having the largest prison population in the world. A disproportionate number of socioeconomically marginalized citizens are incarcerated and subjected to discriminatory practices by law enforcement and the justice department. The consequences are wide-reaching and inseparable, cutting across political, social, and cultural lines. In order to identify the roots of these interconnected phenomena, one needs to both understand the historical struggle of marginalized groups in the U.S. as well as follow the money. Socioeconomic discrimination, voter suppression, for-profit policing practices, ...

Methodology

Data Collection
The current research will utilize interviews as the core method of data collection. As such, the researchers will schedule face to face discussions with the research participants. The interviews will be taped or recorded. The choice to record the interview than take notes is more effective in that it is accurate. However, it is relatively time-consuming, but more recommended because it does not rely on memory. Consent will be sought from the research participants whereby upon accepting consent; the interview schedules will be administered through the use of pretested questionnaires. The interview schedules to be administered ...

DEFINING DETERMINATE SENTENCING

Determinate sentencing is a when one is incarcerated for a definite length of time, i.e. five years or more. The jail time is fixed and cannot be altered by any parole board or agency. An example is when one is entitled to jail time of one-year. The prisoner will serve in the prison walls for one whole year. If the prisoner behaves well, he or she is given sometimes off as a token of appreciation. The maximum time for a determinate sentence is four years. Above that it becomes an indeterminate sentence.
Judges are responsible for determining the period the prisoner will ...

Three Strikes: Is it effective?

Introduction
California’s draconian imprisonment law, the “Three Strikes” law, was the completion of a decade long movement of adopting “get tough on crime” laws. However, though these types of laws have resulted in a 300 percent increase in the prison population in the United States, many Americans felt more prone to violence than the decade before the enactment of the law (Vitello, 1997, p. 395).
Washington was the first state to enact these laws in 1993, so called because of the manner of their operation for incarcerating anyone convicted of three separate cases of violent offenses to serve a ...

The two basic models for parole administration are the consolidated model and the independent model.

Pros of the Consolidated Model of Administering Parole
Consolidated Model is considered as a program that is community-based hence its administration can be done in a single centralized location.
Consolidated Model of parole administration is a better model for the board of parole that is ineffective when it comes to performing administrative functions.
Consolidated Model helps in promoting consistent administration in the consolidated correction department that will render a better results offered by the services of community staffs.
Optimal effectiveness and efficiency of all staffs can be achieved by using a single administration that are in charge of correctional process ...

Introduction

The question of racial discrimination in the legal system of the United States is a sought after topic despite limited evidence to support its existence at present. Although the nation once participated in discriminatory practices in the past, the majority of the activities ceased during the last few decades. Despite sweeping developments in recent years, the news never grows old while reporting a possible aberration. This research paper examines the evidence of data available in the books against the media reports which claim the rampant existence of racial discrimination. Each section in this research paper will raise question regarding ...

According to Mackenzie (2002) about five million or more individuals are under criminal justice system supervision and authority in the United States of America. Close to 1.6 million are housed in local, state or federal correctional facilities. An estimated 70% of these individuals are supervised in either probation or parole, which are forms of community corrections. The suggestion here is that a large part of the correctional population at any one point is under the supervision of corrections in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). About 3.8 individuals both men and women are in community parole and ...

Introduction

The criminal justice system in the United States is complex and has a trove of advantages for the defendant in comparison to several other nations. The rights include the right to an attorney and the right to remain silent during a police interrogation. Apart from these rights, the process to find someone guilty and sentence that person is a tedious process. Unlike justice systems which rely on circumstantial evidence, the American Justice system insists on the presence of physical evidence to corroborate. In addition, a lengthy process ensures checkpoints in different areas to prevent convicting innocent people of crimes ...

Indeterminate sentencing and parole received a fair share of criticism that led to their ultimate abandonment by some states. The sentencing system, for example, was seen to be an unnecessary burden to the tax payer through allowing prisoners to overstay their due term even after a successful change of behavior (Rikard & Rosenberg 2007). Secondly, the shifting of prisoners from one jail to another due to overcrowding in jails led to confusion over the assessment of change of behavior by prisoners since, at times, prisoners were sent to jails that could not continue the rehabilitation program they were on (Ball ...

Juvenile Murderers: A Second Chance or Death

Introduction
The question over treatment of juvenile murderers creates a major debate in the social and political circles. There are proponents of public supporting punishment in the form of a life in prison without parole called LWOP, many believe that capital punishment is needed, and others support the implementation of life in prison with work and restitution called LWOP + W/R (Moon, Wright, Cullen, & Pealer, 2000, p. 663). One common aspect is the belief of the public is the need for bringing people to justice by either jail time or capital punishment. Another important aspect of the juvenile punishment system ...

The sentencing of youths after trials to adult prison has continued in the United States for quite some time now with an estimated 250, 000 youths being incarcerated as adults and hence landing into Adult prison annually. This has been attributed to the changes in laws across forty-nine American states in the ‘90s that increase the number of youths being given adult trials. However, CDC (Center for Disease and Control) and the US Department of Justice stated in 2008 that sending minors to a criminal justice system that is specifically designed to handle adults does not reduce or protect ...

The U.S criminal justice system faces a myriad of challenges, particularly within the last two decades. The prison and penitentiary population reached its optimal level and parole and probation numbers over-doubled. For instance, in 2009 seven million Americans were put under supervision either by federal or state criminal justice systems. These high numbers of offenders under supervision are an indication of the systemic failures in the criminal justice system (Robinson 31). There are two main classifications of criminal justice systems in America, the state and federal criminal justice system. These two systems play a role in identification and prosecution ...

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States
The central thesis of this article looks to the growth rate of imprisonment in the United States over the last four decades or say, while proclaiming how the incarceration rate has unnervingly quadrupled during this segmented period. More specifically, the article compiles various contributions to the factor of national incarceration, yet one most crucial is; policy maker decisions directed to increase the severity and use of prison sentences, clear individual laws reflectant of choice policy to increase incarceration length and usage (Travis, Jeremy, Bruce Western, and Steve Redburn, 2014). The study ...

Q1: The changes that took place in the sentencing process can be categorized into different reform movements, which ultimately resulted in longer prison sentences. The first was the voluntary or advisory sentencing guidelines. Next was determinate sentencing under which the state legislature established a presumptive confinement range for every category of offence. The ‘three-strikes-and-you-are-out’ law can also be seen as major contributors, which were enacted during the early 1990s. These laws impose extremely long prison sentences on repeat offenders. The ‘truth-in-sentencing’ laws also ensure that offenders carry out a substantial portion of their sentence which also makes their prison confinement long. ...

Drug addiction is chronic and is usually a relapsing brain disease causing compulsive drug use and seeking. Irrespective of the harmful consequences resulting from the drug addiction, it influences the users and those around them. Drug addiction remains a critical brain disease as the misuse of drugs leads cause changes in the brain’s structure and function. Even though it is profound that most people make a voluntary initial decision into taking drugs, with time, such brain changes are in place due to repeated drug abuse. They also affect the level of self-control of a person and the ability making sound decisions. They ...

The notion that teens should be tried as adults for the adult crimes they commit has taken root in the country with some state adopted legislation to that effect. While the proponents of trying teens as adults are passionate about the reasons why it should be done, studies have shown that trying teens as adults only breeds more hardcore criminals once the they complete their sentences. While I agree that justice must be seen to be done especially from the aggrieved party’s perspective, it is imperative upon the state to ensure that the justice system does not become ...

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Death penalty Methods & the Eighth Amendment: An Introduction
The American Congress or any state legislature may lay down the death penalty for a convict, as a result of murder and other heinous offenses. The US Supreme Court noted that the capital punishment is not a breach of the US Eighth Amendment; however, it outlined some practical features concerning when a judge might apply the capital penalty and how it must be performed. Due to the Fourteenth Amendment's Clause, the Eighth Amendment is pertinent against the US states, and the federal government.
Eighth ...

Abstract

Overpopulation of prison systems has led to the need to find alternative means of sentencing the people that are convicted of a crime. There are many variations that are used, but two of the most common are community service orders and probation or parole. In many cases they are combined. Through critical analysis, it shows that there is a lot of benefit, but there are also a lot of problems associated with these two methods. Overall the most effective would be a combination of the two alternative sentencing options.
There are continued issues, when it comes to the prison system housing too ...

- Purpose of a victim impact statement
A victim impact statement is a report by which victims of crime provide information in the sentencing process. It contains written or oral information from victims on how the crime has affected them. It helps to outline the effect to which victims got injured on a monetary basis and acts as a means of maintaining probationary status. It serves the purpose of providing a medium through which victims of crimes express in writing the effect of the crime. The impact can be in the form of economic loss as well as physical and psychological impacts on ...

The rebuttal of the presumption of innocence amongst under-aged children is done in cases when a child commits a serious crime. Thus, when a child between ages 13 and 16 commits a serious crime like murder or aggravated sexual assault, such a child is charged like an adult. In spite of this, such a process leads to serious consequences for these underage offenders who are often below their formative years. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of charging minors who commit serious crimes like adults. This will include the review of the implications and possibility ...

Psychology of Criminal Behavior

In the contemporary world, not a day goes by without numerous reports of acts contrary to the law thus obliging the criminal justice system to play its indispensable role in comprehending and rehabilitating offenders into law-abiding citizens. Renowned psychologists such as John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner as well as Edward Thorndike through their theories in fields of behaviorism and operant conditioning exemplify the underlying concept by which the Criminal Justice System is founded. This paper thus seeks to describe the theories of behaviorism and operant conditioning in relation to the criminal justice system. I will succinctly analyze how these theories ...