Chapter 11 Punishment and Sentencing

CJ

© 2011 Cengage Learning

Chapter 11Chapter 11

Punishment and Punishment and SentencingSentencing


Learning Outcomes

LO1: List and contrast the four basic philosophical reasons for sentencing criminals

LO2: Contrast indeterminate sentencing with determinate sentencing

LO3: List the six forms of punishmentLO4: Explain some of the reasons why sentencing

reform has occurred. LO5: Outline the Supreme Court rulings on capital

punishment that led to the bifurcated process for death penalty sentencing

1LO


List and contrast the four basic philosophical

reasons for sentencing criminals.


Learning Outcome 1Philosophical Reasons for

Sentencing:• Retribution• Deterrence

– General and Specific

• Incapacitation• Rehabilitation


Learning Outcome 1

• Restorative Justice– Provides victims with:

• An opportunity to participate in the process• Material reparations• An apology

– Attempts to repair damage that a crime does to the victim.


CAREERPREPMediation Specialist

Job Description:• Complement the standard adjudication of a crime by acting as a third

party facilitator between the victim and the offender. Help resolve their conflicts through a face-to-face discussion of the criminal act.

• Encourage the increased presence of re storative justice in the criminal justice system.

What Kind of Training Is Required?• No formal licensing or certification process exists for mediators.

Rather, training is available through independent mediation programs and mediation organizations. Some colleges and universities offer advanced degrees in conflict management and dispute resolution.

• Skills required include the ability to communicate, negotiate, solve problems, and analyze difficult situations. Successful mediators are also highly intuitive and able to meet clients’ emotional needs during difficult times.

Annual Salary Range?$28,000–$102,200

For additional information, visit: www.voma.org.

2LO


Contrast determinate and

indeterminate sentencing.


Learning Outcome 2

• Legislative sentencing authority– Indeterminate sentencing

• Set a minimum and maximum sentence, within which a judge prescribes a particular term .

• Parole board decides when the offender is released.

• Parole and the Parole Board

– Determinate sentencing


Learning Outcome 2

• Legislative sentencing authority– Determinate sentencing

• Offender serves the exact amount of time of the sentence


Learning Outcome 2

In reality, the actual sentence does not reflect the actual amount of time

spend in jail. – Parole boards– “good time”

In response to public concerns, some states passed a truth-in-sentencing law.


Learning Outcome 2

• Legislative sentencing authority– Determinate sentencing

• Offender serves the exact amount of time of the sentence


Learning Outcome 2

Judicial sentencing authority• Judges bear most of the

responsibility for choosing sentences.

• Determinate sentencing is a direct encroachment on the power of judges to make sentence decisions.


Learning Outcome 2Judge’s Role in Sentencing• During pretrial, judge is passive and

reactive. • In traditional sentencing hearing, judge

has ultimate authority of the state. • Judicial discretion

– Judge should be given leeway in determining punishments that fit the crime and the criminal.

3LO


List the six forms of punishment.


Learning Outcome 3Forms of Punishment:• Capital punishment• Imprisonment• Probation• Fines• Restitution and community service• Restorative justice


Learning Outcome 3

The Sentencing Process:• The presentence investigative

report.• The Jury

– The jury, not the judge, decides where a convict eligible for death penalty will be executed.


Learning Outcome 3

Factors of sentencing:• Seriousness of the crime• Mitigating and aggravating

circumstances

4LO


Explain some of the reasons why sentencing

reform has occurred.


Learning Outcome 4Sentencing Disparity:Those who commit similar crimes shouldreceive similar punishments.

Disparity occurs when:1. Criminals receive similar sentences for different

crimes of unequal seriousness. 2. Criminals receive different sentences for similar

crimes. 3. Mitigating or aggravating circumstances have a

disproportionate effect on sentences.


Learning Outcome 4Sentencing Discrimination:When the sentence is influenced by race, gender, economic status, or some other factor not related to the crime.


Learning Outcome 4Sentencing Guidelines:• Require judges to dispense

legislatively determined sentences.

• Federal sentencing guidelines – Sentencing Reform Act (1984)

• Judicial Departure– Both federal and state guidelines give

judges a limited amount of discretion.


Learning Outcome 4

Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines:• Habitual offender laws• “Three-strikes” in court

– Rummel v. Estelle (1980)– Lockyer v. Andrade (2003)


Learning Outcome 4

Victim Impact Evidence• Victims given the opportunity to

testify during sentencing about their sufferings.

• Victim Impact Statements • In almost all instances, the goal is to

increase the harshness of the sentence.


CAREERPREPNational Victim Advocate

Job Description:• Provide direct support, advocacy, and short-term crisis

counseling to crime victims.• Act as a liaison between victims or witnesses and district

attorneys or law enforcement, and provide court support for victims.

What Kind of Training Is Required?• A bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, social work/psychology,

or a related field.• A minimum of two years’ experience in the criminal justice

system, one year of which should have involved direct services with victims.

Annual Salary Range?$29,000–$44,000

For additional information, visit: www.ncvc.org/ncvc/Main.aspx.

5LO


Outline the Supreme Court rulings on capital punishment that led to the bifurcated process

for death penalty sentencing.


Learning Outcome 5

• 3,300 inmates are currently on death row.

• Rate of executions peaked in 1999, but still higher than at any time in the past 60 years.

• Methods include hanging, the electric chair, firing squad, the gas chamber, and lethal injection.


Learning Outcome 5

The Death Penalty and the Supreme Court:• Weems v. United States (1910)

– Three precedents on sentencing• Cruel and unusual punishment is defined by the

changing norms and standards of society and is not based on historical interpretations.

• Courts may decide whether a punishment is unnecessarily cruel with regard to physical pain.

• Courts may decide whether a punishment is unnecessarily cruel with regard to psychological pain.


Learning Outcome 5

The Death Penalty and the Supreme Court:

• Furman v. Georgia (1972)– The death sentence is so arbitrary, that

it’s like being struck by lightning.


Learning Outcome 5The Death Penalty and the Supreme

Court:• Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

– Court ruled in favor of bifurcated process.• Jury first determines guilt or innocence of

accused.• Jury then reconvenes to decide on death

sentence for guilty


Learning Outcome 5Mitigating Circumstances• Insanity • Mentally Handicapped

– Atkins v. Virginia (2002)

• Age– Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Chapter 11 Punishment and Sentencing

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