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• 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).
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)
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…
SENTENCING: Determining Factors• In all cases of sentencing, the 8th Amendment must be
applied… i.e. “…no cruel and unusual punishments…”
SENTENCING: Rationale
• In each sentencing a judge will provide a rationale for why a particular sentence was chosen.
Sentencing Rationale
• Read your handout and determine a suitable punishment in each case using mitigating and aggravating factors…
• Write your rationale for the punishment!
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• FINES: Money paid to the government.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• PROBATION: Trial period in which a person is watched by the government for a set time.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• COMMUNITY SERVICE: Tedious, often menial work such as picking up litter.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• RESTITUTION: Paying someone back for damages caused or items stolen.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• REHABILITATION: Medical/psychological treatment and education.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• HOUSE ARREST: Limited movement. Usually wear an ankle bracelet.
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).
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• COUNTY JAIL: Short time (usually less than a year), for minor crimes.
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.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• STATE PRISON: Extended time, 1 yr to life, reserved for serious crimes.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• INSTITUTION FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE: Incarceration for persons deemed unfit for regular prison on account of their mental condition.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
• DEATH PENALTY: Reserved for 1st degree murder in some states and Federal Gov. (Has also been used for treason very rarely)
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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