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CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 15. CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS: SENTENCING AND CORRECTIONS. SENTENCING OPTIONS. Judges generally have considerable freedom in determining the actual type, length, and conditions of the sentence. Judges may choose from 1 of the following 7 options or use a combination of the following.

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CHAPTER 15

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  1. CHAPTER 15 CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS: SENTENCING AND CORRECTIONS

  2. SENTENCING OPTIONS • Judges generally have considerable freedom in determining the actual type, length, and conditions of the sentence. • Judges may choose from 1 of the following 7 options or use a combination of the following. • 1. Suspended sentence– sentence is given but does not have to be served at the time it is imposed. However,

  3. SENTENCING OPTIONS • The defendant may have to serve the time later if he or she is arrested later on another charge or violates his or her probation. • 2. Probation—The defendant is released to the supervision of a probation officer after agreeing to follow certain conditions, getting a job, drug-free, and not traveling outside the area.

  4. SENTENCING OPTIONS • 3. Home confinement —defendant serves out his/her term in their home. • Normally can only leave their home for essential purposes, such as work, school, or important appointments. • 4. Fine —defendant must pay the govt. the amount of money set by the court.

  5. SENTENCING OPTIONS • 5. Restitution—defendant is required to pay back or make up the loss or injury that was caused to the victim of the crime. • 6. Work release —defendant is allowed to work in the community but is required to return to prison at night or on weekends. • 7. Imprisonment—defendant is sentenced to a term in jail or prison.

  6. SENTENCING OPTIONS • Some states require a definite sentence be given, (for example, 2 years). • Some states require an indeterminate term, in which case the sentence is stated not as a specific number of years but as a minimum and maximum term (for example, not less than 3 years nor more than 10 years).

  7. SENTENCING OPTIONS • Some judges allow defendants in misdemeanor cases to serve short jail sentences on weekends.

  8. FACTORS IN SENTENCING • Many factors go into the sentencing decision. • Include the judge’s theory of corrections and what he/she thinks is in the best interest of society and the individual. • Most states authorize a pre-sentence report. This report is prepared by the probation department

  9. FACTORS IN SENTENCING • It contains a description of the offense and the circumstances surrounding it. • It also sets out the defendant’s past criminal record, data on the defendant’s social, medical, educational, and employment background, and a recommendation as to sentence. • Judge looks at this and listens to recommendations and then imposes sentence.

  10. PURPOSES OF PUNISHMENT • A criminal sentence serves 4 purposes: • 1. Retribution—where society punishes those who violate its laws. Prevents individuals from doing so. • 2. Deterrence—many people believe that punishment will discourage the offender from committing another crime in the future.

  11. PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENTS • In addition, the punishment will serve as an example to deter other people from committing crimes in the future. • 3. Rehabilitation—this is to help convicted people change their behavior so they can lead useful and productive lives after release. • Based on the idea that criminals can overcome the problems that caused them to commit the crimes.

  12. PURPOSES OF PUNISHMENTS • Educational, vocational, and counseling programs in prisons and jails are designed to rehabilitate inmates. • 4. Incapacitation—this is where the criminal is physically separated from the community and this protects the community. While locked up, the offender can not pose a threat to the community.

  13. Problem 15.1 (p. 166)

  14. PAROLE • In most states, the amount of time a person serves in prison depends on whether or not parole is granted. • Parole—the release of a convicted person from prison before his/her entire sentence has been served. • It depends on the state. In one, a person may become eligible after serving a minimum sentence specified by the judge.

  15. PAROLE • This is not a right, but a privilege. • Inmates may go before a parole board to have the decision made. • Some inmates serve out their full sentence. • The federal system and some states don’t have a parole system and some critics like this.

  16. PAROLE • Problem 15.3 (p168)

  17. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Also known as the death penalty. • Most controversial sentence given. • First happened in 1630 in America. • For decades, capital punishment has been debated in U.S. • In 1935 had 199 prisoners executed and declined to where in 1967 only had one.

  18. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • From 1967-1977, executions were halted while the courts studied the legality of capital punishment. • 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the death penalty was unconstitutional as then applied because juries had too much discretion.

  19. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Laws were rewritten and in 1976, the Court ruled that the new laws were constitutional as long as aggravating and mitigating circumstances were considered in sentencing. • Executions soon resumed. • 1997, 60 executions occurred and 3219 inmates were on death row.

  20. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • As of 1997, 38 states had the death penalty. • It is carried out in different ways: 37 states use lethal injection, 10 use electrocution, 5 use gas, 3 use hanging, and 3 use firing squad. • Some states use more than 1 method • Utah was just in news for firing squad. Idaho and Oklahoma also use this.

  21. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Most capital punishment laws call for 2 trials, one to decide guilt or innocence and another to set the sentence. • Judges and juries are required to consider both aggravating circumstances—factors that make a crime worse. Particularly gruesome murder or previous convictions of the accused.

  22. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Also mitigating circumstances—factors that make the crime less severe. Examples like a history of abuse or no prior criminal record. • Opponents of capital punishment give a lot of reasons why it should not be used. • Death penalty does not deter murder. • Murder rates remain the same.

  23. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • It is applied in an unfair manner. • Violates the 8th Amendment’s ban against “cruel and unusual punishment.” • Argue that life without parole is a better sentence. A serious punishment, communities are protected and the sentence can be reconsidered if new evidence is discovered later.

  24. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Advocates say killers get what they deserve. • Say the threat of death does deter crime. • Point to opinion polls showing that most Americans favor it. • Say fairly applied and the Court has upheld this view.

  25. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT • Problem 15.4 (p. 170)

  26. CORRECTIONS • Once a person is convicted of a crime, state and federal governments have the right to put the offender in the corrections system. • This includes community corrections, halfway houses, jails, and prisons. • Jails operated by cities and counties, prisons operated by fed and state govt.

  27. Life Behind Bars • An inmate is controlled by many rules. • Told when to get up and go to sleep. • Mail and phone calls are screened. • Access to media sources is controlled. • Visitors are limited and inmates are subject to constant surveillance and searches.

  28. Life Behind Bars • Some inmates work at prison jobs, which pay very little. • Some spend all day locked in their cells. • Until the 1960s, inmates had few rights. • Prison officials could enforce almost any rules they wanted. • Harsh treatment, solitary confinement, and beatings were fairly common.

  29. Life Behind Bars • Since then, the courts have established and enforced many prisoners’ rights. • Inmates retain even after entering prison. • The right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to freedom of religion, right to due process, right to medical treatment and the right of access to law libraries and the courts.

  30. Prison Overcrowding • During the 1990s and into 2000s, there has been a significant increase in the number of people in jail or prison. • By 2002, there were more than 1.4 million in U.S. prisons, with nearly 700,000 awaiting trials or serving shorter sentences in jails.

  31. Prison Overcrowding • This increase was caused by a get-tough-on-crime policy • Resulted in more people going to prison for longer periods. • More mandatory sentences, lengthening of some prison terms, and decreasing use of parole and other early-release options.

  32. Prison Overcrowding • A need to have more jails and prisons. • 2000 alone, 27 new state and 4 new federal institutions were built. • Average cost of maintaining a person in prison ranges from $15,000 to more than $50,000 a year

  33. Prison Overcrowding • Much of the increase in the federal inmate population, resulted from more aggressive prosecution in drug cases. • This has generated huge debates. • Because of overcrowding, some states have signed contracts with private corporations or private prisons to run their prisons, claiming it saves money.

  34. Prison Overcrowding • Critics worry that private corporations may violate inmates’ rights more often, lobby for longer sentences, and be less concerned about rehabilitation. • Courts have consistently held these prisons are legal and must protect the rights of prisoners just as the state and federal facilities must.

  35. Prison Overcrowding • Problem 15.7 (p.173)

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