Criminal Sentencing
Criminal Sentencing Beretta Smallwood Juvenile Justice 301 Ron Nimmer June 8, 2008 Criminal Sentencing Rules about punishment, such as how much punishment can be inflicted and for what kinds of behavior, are of course contained in laws and regulations, so in this sense law justifies punishment. However, the moral justification for punishment is a separate issue from the legal justification because, although the law may provide for the infliction of punishment, society's moral justification for punishment still has to be established. To punish a person for the crime they were convicted of committing. To sentence a criminal is to remove their freedom to move about in society for some specified period of time. In this paper the author will discuss the purpose of criminal sentencing or punishment. 150 years ago, there was a theory that criminals could be reformed in prison and returned to society as changed persons who would not voluntarily break the laws again. Most U.S. prisons required inmates to work to pay their keep. One prison warden in the East (an ordained minister), required all new inmates to spend time in solitary confinement when they arrived to reflect on the actions that got them there in the first place. They were not allowed to join the general prison population or engage in work until they understood what they had done wrong. The return rate for these
The Basic Principles Of Sentencing
The Basic Principles Of Sentencing This essay will outline the basic principles of sentencing; in relation to this it will also discuss the background behind sentencing, non-custodial and custodial sentences, case studies and statistics of crime and sentences. Sentencing is described as the punishment ordered by a court for a defendant convicted of a crime. The basic principles behind sentencing a person convicted of a crime are rehabilitation, deterrence, protection, retribution and reparation. Rehabilitation is a principle of sentencing that assumes that offenders can be "reformed" or rehabilitated and for that reason should not be sent to prison, or that any prison term should be shortened. Sentencing is a use of deterrence as it is hoped that potential offenders will be discouraged of committing crimes. Protection means by convicting offenders of crimes it is possible that the general public are kept safe from criminals. Retribution is a principle of sentencing that is distinguishable from revenge but provides that sentences, amongst other things, should be reasonably proportionate to the crime committed by the accused. Reparation is closure for the victims of a crime in knowing that the offender has been punished and also in some cases, if the victim chooses this might include, for example, writing a letter of apology, or repairing criminal damage. There are two
Sentencing Notes
SENTENCING Judges have discretion as to what sentences they choose to impose on offenders. Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, they must consider the aims of the sentencing in relation to the particular offence and the particular offender: zling The aims of sentencing is set out below: . Protection of public 2. Punishment of offender 3. Compensation to the victim 4. Reduction of Crime(deterrence) 5. Reform and rehabilitation of the offender The punishment of offender is based on the principle of retribution which states that the offender deserves to receive a punishment that is in proportion to his crime. This applies the mentality of ‘an eye for an eye’ and ensures that the offender pays for his offence. This justifies the death penalty for cases such as manslaughter. It does not aim to reform or rehabilitate the offender and merely satisfies a sense of revenge for the victims. It contains the principle of denunciation which reflects societal disapproval at the offender’s act. Example of punishment may include imprisonment, community sentences or fines. Denunciation was previously an aim of the sentencing but this has changes over the years. Tariff Sentences are guidelines used to set what offences and the range of the sentence that is appropriate for certain crimes. Protection of public is an aim that aims to protect the public from the offender’s future
Describe the different aims of sentencing.
Law (a) Describe the different aims of sentencing. [15] Within the English legal system there are six different aims of sentencing. They will be considered when trying to place an appropriate sentence and will be present within that decision either alone or in combination. Retribution is one of the six aims of sentencing and is defined as the punishment inflicted in moral outrage or personal vengeance. Applied to law it simply means recognizing that the criminal has done something wrong and taking revenge on behalf of both the victim and society as a whole. Retribution is a priority in most sentences and In the White Paper of 1990, Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public, reference was made to the need for sentences to achieve 'just desserts', stating that punishments should match the harm done. Retribution is also based on the idea of tariff sentencing and that each particular offence should have particular guidelines as to what sentence to give the offender. An example of this is the case of R v Aramah (1983) where the different tariffs for drug offences were defined according to type, value and amount of drugs involved. However, many different factors surrounding the offence and the offender can affect the aim of retribution; for example, a criminal might be sent to prison even though the crime committed fits a non-custodial sentence as the offender might come from
Outline the basic principles of sentencing
Outline the basic principles of sentencing Legal system is one of the most important parts of the Government, which directly affects the society and people in the society; as a result, researchers and criticisers have always inspected it. This essay will outline the basic principles of sentencing in United Kingdom. There are five general aims or functions or justifications of punishment in the UK's legal system, which are: . RETRIBUTION Retribution rests on the notion that if a person has knowingly done wrong, he or she deserves to be punished. This idea was at the heart of the previous Conservative Government's White Paper" Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public". The Government aims, repeated several times, were to ensure that convicted criminals receive their 'just desert'. Punishing offenders satisfies the requirement that a rule imposes a penalty for its own breach, that penalty must be imposed. 2. DETERRENCE There is a belief that punishment for crime can deter people from committing same offence and can stop criminals re-offending their crimes. There are two forms: * Specific deterrence is concerned with punishing an individual offender in the expectation that he will not offend again. * General deterrence is related to the possibility that people in general will be deterred from committing crime by the threat of punishment if they are caught. This aim is
Outline the factors that influence sentencing decisions of criminal courts in England and Wales and consider whether consistency in sentencing is possible or desirable.
Deborah Waisome 9615896 CRM3690 Outline the factors that influence sentencing decisions of criminal courts in England and Wales and consider whether consistency in sentencing is possible or desirable. Sentencing is a major function of the criminal justice process and involves many different and often conflicting considerations. (Davis et al, 1999,p.236). The Criminal Justice Act 1991 set out to impose a coherent theoretical approach to sentencing. The aim of sentencing is the purpose or objective that the judge or policy maker is seeking to achieve. The justification for sentencing involves considering why the aims are desirable, especially where sentences aim at some beneficial consequence. A sentence might involve some form of punishment, and a key feature distinguishing criminal law from other forms of law is that it involves the possibility of the state imposing a punishment on an offender. Such punishment however must follow a finding of guilt in accordance with due process. A due process perspective emphasises the need to administer justice according to legal rules and procedures that are publicly known, fair and seen to be just. The main function of the criminal courts is to act as an impartial arbitrator of conflicts arising between the state and its citizens. This distinguishes state punishment from private vengeance. (McLaughlin and Muncie 1996, p.111) 'If the
Describe the aims of sentencing and other factors that should be taken into account when sentencing an offender.
Describe the aims of sentencing and other factors that should be taken into account when sentencing an offender. When punishing the offender, the judges or magistrates have to not only look at sentences available, but decide what they will achieve by the punishment they give. Section 142 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets out for those 18 and over which states the court must have regard to; the punishment of offenders, the reduction of crime(including reduction by deterrence), reform and rehabilitation of offenders, protection of the public and making reparation by offenders that affected the victims lives. Punishment is often referred to retribution. In addition to the purposes of sentencing in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, denunciation of crime is also recognised as an aim of sentencing. Retribution is based on the idea that the offender deserves punishment for his/her acts. This however does not reduce crime or alter the offender's future behaviour. Therefore retribution is concerned only with the offence that was committe3d and making sure that the punishment inflicted is in proportion to that offence. The crudest form of retribution can be seen in the old saying, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life'. This was one of the factors used to justify the death penalty for the offence of murder. Retribution today is more based on the idea
Working with offenders after sentencing
When an offender has been through the court processes and a guilty verdict has been reached, an appropriate sentence has to be decided. When a conclusion regarding the gravity of the offence is reached, suitable community protection must be enforced through punishment or rehabilitation or a combination of the two (Birgden, 2008). There is much dispute regarding the effectiveness of particular sentences on offender recidivism (McGuire, 2002). It was reported that within the four main types of sentencing used by English court systems (imprisonment, community service orders, probation orders and probation with additional requirements) there was no more than 3% variation between predicted and actual reoffending rates for every sentence (Lloyd, Mair & Hough, 1994). This has practical implications as it can be argued that sentencing type has no influence on whether a criminal will reoffend, and it is therefore irrelevant. Despite this, there are many reported benefits associated with different types of sentence attempting to punish and/or rehabilitate offenders. For serious offences, prison is the main method of punishment. It is widely regarded by the public and policy makers that prison is the most severe and effective form of punishment for criminal behaviour within the judicial system (Doob, Sprott, Marinos, & Varma, 1998; Spelman, 1995; Wood & Grasmick, 1999), and expected by
Critically evaluate the aims and consequences of sentencing and show how the laws regarding sentencing currently stand in England and Wales.
Criminal Justice: Assignment 1 In this assignment I intend to critically evaluate the aims and consequences of sentencing and show how the laws regarding sentencing currently stand in England and Wales. I will show how sentencing an offender works, and how judges come to their decisions. I also intend to show what the aims of sentencing set out to achieve. Sentencing is a particularly important aspect in the Criminal Justice System in operation within England and Wales. It must be determined, to define what sentencing does, what it can do what it could achieve and whether or not it endorses the aims it is given. At present, there is not one specific aim of the Criminal Justice System. According to the current Home Office Statement which has been released, the aims of the Criminal Justice System is "to build a safe, just and tolerant society, in which rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained". There are many opinions as to what sentences are actually meant to achieve. Punishment is categorised as guilt, blame, pain or humiliation. Many of the general public believe that a sentence should be passed to punish an offender although in some cases this may not necessarily be the correct sentence to pass. In Tyrer v United Kingdom (1978) A 26, Eur Ct of H.R the question of
Criminal justice: Sentencing law & practice
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: SENTENCING LAW & PRACTICE "Sentencing consists in trying to reconcile a number of totally irreconcilable facts. The judges get very little help in this difficult matter"Lord Lane, Hansard HL, vol 486, col. 1285 The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the validity of the above quote by Lord Lane in light of the current framework. The sentencing of a convicted criminal is a difficult job, and often causes public outrage at 'weak' sentencing by the judge (often without reason - the public has not taken in to account mitigating factors, defences, previous convictions etc.) The aims of criminal sentencing have traditionally been said to be retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation. To these there may now perhaps be added: incapacitation (i.e. putting it out of the power of the offender to commit further offences) and the maintenance of public confidence. It is obvious that the different sentences available to the courts serve these purposes in very different measures. For example, a sentence of imprisonment is very largely retributive, punitive, although it will prevent the offender committing further offences while imprisoned and may deter others from offending. A sentence of imprisonment is not usually passed with a view to rehabilitating the offender, even if in a minority of cases it has that effect. By contrast, a hospital order made in a case of a
