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Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Sentencing: To Punish Or To Reform?. Key Terms. Sentencing: Imposition of a criminal sanction by a sentencing authority, such as a judge Sentence: The penalty a court imposes on a person convicted of a crime. Philosophy of Criminal Sentencing.

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Chapter 3

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  1. Chapter 3 Sentencing: To Punish Or To Reform?

  2. Key Terms • Sentencing: Imposition of a criminal sanction by a sentencing authority, such as a judge • Sentence: The penalty a court imposes on a person convicted of a crime

  3. Philosophy of Criminal Sentencing • John Conrad: “The punishment of the criminal is the collective reaction of the community to the wrong that has been done. It is the offender’s lot to be punished.” • Social Order: The smooth functioning of social institutions, the existence of positive and productive relations among individual members of society, and the orderly functioning of society as a whole.

  4. Sentencing Goals • Revenge: Punishment is equated with vengeance. • Retribution: Paying back the victim for what the offender has done. • Associated with “an eye for an eye” • Just Desert: Punishment deserved. • Criminal offenders are morally blameworthy and are therefore deserving of punishment.

  5. Sentencing Goals - Continued • Deterrence: The discouragement or prevention of crimes through the fear of punishment. • Specific deterrence: the deterrence of the individual being punished from committing additional crimes. • General deterrence: the use of the example of individual punishment to dissuade others from committing crimes. • Incapacitation: The use of imprisonment or other means to reduce an offender’s capability to commit future offenses.

  6. Sentencing Goals - Continued • Rehabilitation or reformation: the changing of criminal lifestyles into law-abiding ones by “correcting” the behavior of offenders through treatment, education, and training. • Reintegration: the process of making the offender a productive member of the community.

  7. Sentencing Goals - Continued • Restoration: the process of returning to their previous condition all those involved in or affected by crime. • Includes victims, offenders, and society. • Restorative justice: A systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing the wounds of victims, offenders, and communities caused or revealed by crime. • Victim-impact statement: a description of the harm and suffering that a crime has caused victims and survivors.

  8. Sentencing Options • Fines or other monetary sanctions • Probation • Alternative or intermediate sanctions • Incarceration • Death Penalty

  9. Restitution • Payments made by a criminal offender to his or her victim (or the court which then turns them over to the victim) as compensation for the harm caused by the offense.

  10. Types of Sentences • Mandatory Sentence: sentences required by law under certain circumstances. • Consecutive Sentences: sentences served one after the other. • Concurrent Sentences: sentences served simultaneously.

  11. Sentencing Models • Flat Sentences: specify a given amount of time to be served in custody. • Allows little or no variation from the time specified • Common in the 19th Century • Indeterminate Sentence: specifies a fixed minimum and a maximum length. (e.g. 5 to 15) • The parole board determines the actual time of release. • Good time: the amount of time prison authorities deduct from a sentence for good behavior or other reasons. • Determinate Sentence: specifies a fixed term of incarceration. • Can be reduced by good time

  12. Sentencing Models – Continued • Guideline Sentencing • Voluntary/Advisory Sentencing Guidelines: recommended sentencing policies that are not required by law • Presumptive Sentencing Guidelines • Federal Sentencing Guidelines • The legal environment and sentencing guidelines (next slide)

  13. The Legal Environment and Sentencing Guidelines • Nichols v. U.S. • United States v. Watts • Edwards v. U.S. • U.S. v. Cotton • Apprendi v. New Jersey • Blakely v. Washington • U.S. v. Booker and U.S. v. Fanfan

  14. Sentencing Models – Continued • Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: The imposition of sentences required by statute for those convicted of a particular crime or a particular crime under special circumstances (e.g., robbery with a firearm or selling drugs to a minor within 1,000 feet of a school), or for those with a particular type of criminal history.

  15. Sentencing Enhancement • Habitual Offender Statute • A law that (1) allows a person’s criminal history to be considered at sentencing or (2) makes it possible for a person convicted of a given offense and previously convicted of another specified offense to receive a more severe penalty than that for the current offense alone. • Three-Strikes Laws • Ewing v. California

  16. Issues in Sentencing • Proportionality: the severity of punishment should match the seriousness of the crime. • Equity: similar crimes and similar offenders should be treated alike. • Social Debt: the severity of punishment should take into account the offender’s prior criminal behavior. • Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Legislation and Sentencing • Truth in Sentencing: Requires offenders to serve a substantial portion of their sentence.

  17. Broader Issues • Guideline-based determinate sentencing and restorative justice appear to be inherently at odds with each other. • A hybrid system of “restorative sentencing guidelines” has been suggested to resolve the problem. • Under the hybrid system the guidelines would not apply to lower severity offenders.

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