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Sentencing and Punishment

Sentencing and Punishment. Sentencing. Happens after a guilty verdict. Happens also if a defendant pleads guilty before a trial were to take place. Judge decides on a punishment. Sentencing: Determining factors. LEGAL FACTORS. MORAL FACTORS.

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Sentencing and Punishment

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  1. Sentencing and Punishment

  2. Sentencing • Happens after a guilty verdict. • Happens also if a defendant pleads guilty before a trial were to take place. • Judge decides on a punishment.

  3. Sentencing: Determining factors LEGAL FACTORS MORAL FACTORS Mitigating Factors: aspects of crime that make it less severe (i.e. provocation, addiction). Aggravating factors: aspects that make the crime more severe (i.e. cruel intent, harming a child, etc) • Some crimes have set punishments established by law: “mandatory”. • Others are entirely left to the judge’s discretion. • Some punishments are prohibited by law (i.e. Death Penalty).

  4. Sentencing Determining Factors • In many cases there is a maximum and minimum sentence, and a judge must choose within this range using mitigating and aggravating factors to determine where within this range a sentence should fall…

  5. SENTENCING: Determining Factors • In all cases of sentencing, the 8th Amendment must be applied… i.e. “…no cruel and unusual punishments…”

  6. SENTENCING: Rationale • In each sentencing a judge will provide a rationale for why a particular sentence was chosen.

  7. Sentencing Rationale • Read your handout and determine a suitable punishment in each case using mitigating and aggravating factors… • Write your rationale for the punishment!

  8. TYPES OF SENTENCE • FINES: Money paid to the government.

  9. TYPES OF SENTENCE • PROBATION: Trial period in which a person is watched by the government for a set time.

  10. TYPES OF SENTENCE • COMMUNITY SERVICE: Tedious, often menial work such as picking up litter.

  11. TYPES OF SENTENCE • RESTITUTION: Paying someone back for damages caused or items stolen.

  12. TYPES OF SENTENCE • REHABILITATION: Medical/psychological treatment and education.

  13. TYPES OF SENTENCE • HOUSE ARREST: Limited movement. Usually wear an ankle bracelet.

  14. TYPES OF SENTENCE • SUSPENDED SENTENCE: Sentence “put off” pending good behavior. If a convicted person misbehaves, the sentence becomes active (i.e. arrest warrant issued and sent to jail to fulfill the sentence).

  15. TYPES OF SENTENCE • COUNTY JAIL: Short time (usually less than a year), for minor crimes.

  16. TYPES OF SENTENCE • TIME SERVED: If a person already spent time in jail waiting for a trial, a judge may count this towards a sentence. • Sometimes a judge might release someone at sentencing if he/she has already exceeded the time for the crime they have been convicted.

  17. TYPES OF SENTENCE • STATE PRISON: Extended time, 1 yr to life, reserved for serious crimes.

  18. TYPES OF SENTENCE • INSTITUTION FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE: Incarceration for persons deemed unfit for regular prison on account of their mental condition.

  19. TYPES OF SENTENCE • DEATH PENALTY: Reserved for 1st degree murder in some states and Federal Gov. (Has also been used for treason very rarely)

  20. Appealing a Sentence • Sentences and verdicts can only be appealed if there are grounds to believe that there were mistakes made in the conduct of the trial. • The law must have been applied incorrectly or a defendant’s rights must have been violated. • Very few appeals are successful.

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