Chapter 9Punishment and Sentencing

Learning Objectives

Outline the historical development of punishment

List the major goals of contemporary sentencing

Distinguish among general and specific deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution

Compare rehabilitation with just deserts

Identify various sentencing models

Learning objectives

Explain how sentences are imposed

Summarize factors associated with sentencing decisions

List the arguments for and against capital punishment

Be familiar with the legal issues associated with capital punishment

The History of Punishment

The punishment and correction of criminals has changed considerably through the ages reflecting:

Custom

Economic conditions

Religious and political ideals

The History of Punishment

Early Greece and Rome Banishment or exile was most common

Middle Ages Little governmental control

Feudal period Emphasis of criminal law was on maintaining

public order

Punishments increased in severity Torture, execution, banishment, mutilation,

branding, and flogging used on a range of offenses

Retribution more important than deterrence

The History of Punishment

Public Work and Transportation to Colonies:

Sixteenth Century - the rise of the city and overseas colonization provided tremendous markets for manufactured goods and spurned a need for labor

Offenders were made to do hard labor for their crimes

“Poor laws” replaced torture

Workhouses were born in England

Convicts transported overseas

The History of Punishment

The Rise of the Prison:

Late 18th century crime rates rose significantly – a return to physical punishment and increased use of death penalty (350 crimes punishable by death)

Jails and workhouses held petty offenders

Hard core prisoners held in abandoned ships in England

Penitentiaries replaced physical punishment in England and America

The Goals of Modern Sentencing

The Goals of Modern Sentencing

Deterrence:

General Deterrence

Punishing the offender convinces potential offenders not to commit crimes

The more certain and severe the punishment, the greater the deterrent effect

Specific Deterrence

The punishment is greater than the benefits

Deters that particular individual from committing a subsequent offense

The Goals of Modern Sentencing

Incapacitation:

Criminals will not be able to repeat their criminal acts while they are under state control

The evidence supporting or negating incapacitation is mixed

The Goals of Modern Sentencing

Retribution/Just Desert: The essential purpose of the criminal process is

to punish offenders-fairly and justly-in a manner that is proportionate to the gravity of their crimes

Sentence should be clear and certain

Rehabilitation: Based upon the need to treat criminal offenders

Society has failed the offender – therefore the justice system is obligated to help and not simply punish

Offenders can be reformed

The Goals of Modern Sentencing

Equity/Restitution:

Convicted criminals should pay back:

Their victims

Justice system costs

Society for the disruption they caused

Repayment to society and the victims by the offender

Sentencing Models

States penalize their convicted offenders in different ways:

Indeterminate sentences

Determinate sentences

Mandatory sentences

Sentencing Models

Indeterminate Sentences:

Most widely used sentencing model in the United States

Based on a treatment philosophy which must fit the needs of the offender

Specify minimum and maximum terms

Can earn time off for good behavior

Sentencing Models

Determinate Sentences:

Prompted by dissatisfaction with disparity and uncertainty of indeterminate sentencing

Utilizes sentencing guidelines:

Recommended sentences are based upon the seriousness of the offense and the background of the offender

Future of guidelines in question

Sentencing Models

Mandatory Sentences:

Limits judicial discretion and gets tough on crime

May exclude probation or parole

May use minimum or maximum terms but most require a fixed prison sentence

Have increased the prison populations significantly

Three-strikes laws - provides lengthy prison terms for three felony convictions

Sentencing Models

Truth In Sentencing:

Require offenders to serve a substantial portion of their prison sentence behind bars

The act requires an offender serve at least 85 percent of the prison sentence in order to qualify for funding

Parole eligibility and good-time credits are restricted or eliminated

Imposing the Sentence

Pre-Sentence Investigation Report:

Most judges consider pre-sentence investigation reports by the probation department

This report is a social and personal history, as well as an evaluation of the defendant’s chances for rehabilitation within the community

Imposing the Sentence

Concurrent vs. Consecutive Sentences:

Concurrent sentences

Serves sentences for two or more crimes at the same time

Consecutive sentences

Sentences for two or more criminal acts are served one after the other

Effects of good time can shorten sentences

Consecutive vs. Concurrent Sentences

Imposing the Sentence

The Effect of Good Time:

When judges sentence offenders, they consider the effect that the amount of time off for good behavior

Good time rates range from 10-15 days per month

Some correctional authorities grant earned sentence reductions to inmates who participate in treatment programs

Imposing the Sentence

How Are People Sentenced?:

The most recent survey found that one million adults are convicted of felonies each year

70 % of all felons convicted in state courts are sentenced to a period of confinement

40 % to state prisons

30 % to local jails

Remaining sentenced to probation with no jail or prison

Imposing the Sentence

What Factors Affect Sentencing?: Severity of the offense Offender’s prior criminal record Violence involved Weapons involved Financially motivated Social class Gender Age Race Victim characteristics

Lengths of Felony Sentences Imposed By State Courts

Capital Punishment

The most severe sentence in the United States

More than 14,500 confirmed executions in America since 1608

Arguments for and against the death penalty

Sentence by Prior Record

Capital Punishment

Arguments for the Death Penalty:

Incapacitation

Deterrence

Morally Correct

Proportional to the Crime

Reflects public opinion

Unlikely Chances of Error

Capital Punishment

Arguments Against the Death Penalty: Possibility of Error Unfair use of Discretion Misplaced Vengeance Weak Public Support No Hope of Rehabilitation Race, Gender, and other Bias Causes More Crime than it Deters Cruel and Inhuman Expensive Morally Wrong

Capital Punishment

Legal Issues in Capital Punishment: Furman v. Georgia

The Court objected to arbitrary and capricious application

Gregg v. Georgia Consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances

Ring v. Arizona Jury must impose sentence

Atkins v. Virginia May not execute mentally ill

Roper v. Simmons Must be 18 years old to be executed

Executions 1930-Present

Death Penalty and Non-Death Penalty States with Executions since 1976