Criminal Justice Chp. 9: Sentencing

Retibutive Justice Examples

- crime against the state, a violation of a law, an abstract idea. - criminal justice system controls crime. Offender accountability is defined as taking punishment. -victims are peripheral to the process of resolving crime. - offender is defined by deficits. - emphasis is on adversarial relationships. - pain is imposed to punish, deter, or prevent. -community is on the sidelines, represented abstractly by the state. - response is focused on the offencer's past behavior. - dependence on proxy professionals.

Restorative Justice Examples

-Crime is an act against another person or the community. - Crime control lies primarily with the community. Offender accountability is defined as assuming responsibility and taking action to repair harm. - Individual and social dimensions of responsibility. -Victims are central to the process of resolving a crime. -Offender is defined by the capacity to make reparation. -The offender is defined by the capacity to make reparation. -Emphasis is on dialogue and negotiation. -Restitution is a means of restoring both parties; the goal is reconciliation. -community is the facilitator in the restorative process. -response is focused on harmful consequences of the offender's behavior; the emphasis is on the future and on reparation. -direct involvement by both the offender and the victim.

Describe the five goals of contemporary criminal sentencing

1) Retribution: a just deserts perspective that emphasizes taking revenge on a criminal perpetrator or group of offenders. 2) Incapacitation: Use of imprisonment or other means to reduce the likelihood that a particular offender will commit more crime. 3) Deterrence: Sentencing rationale that seeks to inhibit criminal behavior through punishment of the fear of punishment. a. General: seeks to prevent future crimes like the one for which the sentence is being imposed. b. seeks to prevent a particular offender from engaging in repeat criminality. 4) Rehabilitation: attempt to reform a criminal offender. 5) Restoration: Goal of sentencing that seeks to make the victim "whole again".

Four traditional sentencing options

1. fines 2. probation 3. imprisonment 4. death

truth in sentencing

A close correspondence between the sentence imposed on an offender and the time actually served in prison.

deterrence

A goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to inhibit criminal behavior through the fear of punishment.

specific deterrence

A goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent a particular offender from engaging in repeat criminality.

general deterrence

A goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one for which a particular offender is being sentenced by making an example of the person sentenced

indeterminate sentencing

A model of criminal justice punishment that encourages rehabilitation through the use of general relatively unspecific sentences is called:

determinate sentencing

A model of criminal punishment in which an offender is given a fixed term of imprisonment that may be reduced by good time or gain time. Under the model, for example, all offenders convicted of the same degree of burglary would be sentenced to the same length of time behind bars

structured sentencing

A model of criminal punishment that includes determinate and commission-created presumptive sentencing schemes, as well as voluntary/advisory sentencing guidelines

presumptive sentencing

A model of criminal punishment that meets the following conditions; (1) The appropriate sentence for an offender convicted of a specific charge is presumed to fall within a range of sentences authorized by sentencing guidelines that are adopted by a legislatively created sentencing body, usually a sentencing commission. (2) Sentencing judges are expected to sentence within the range or to provide written justification for failing to do so. (3) There is a mechanism for review, usually appellate, of any departure from the guidelines

Just Deserts

A model of criminal sentencing that holds that criminal offenders deserve the punishment they receive at the hands of the law and that punishments should be appropriate to the type and severity of the crime committed

Restorative Justice

A model of deterrence that uses restitution programs, community work programs, victim-offender mediation, and other strategies not only to rehabilitate the offender, but also to address the damage done to the community and the victim.

rehabilitation

A program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses

social debt

A sentencing principle that holds that an offender's criminal history should objectively be taken into account in sentencing decisions

proportionality

A sentencing principle that holds that the severity of sanctions should bear a direct relationship to the seriousness of the crime committed.

mandatory sentencing

A structured sentencing scheme that allows no leeway in the nature of the sentence imposed. Under this, clearly enumerated punishments are mandated for specific offenses or for habitual offenders convicted of a series of crimes

victim-impact statement

An in-court statement made by the victim or by survivors to sentencing authorities seeking to make an informed sentencing decision

aggravating circumstances

Circumstances relating to the commission of a crime that make it more grave than the average instance of that crime

mitigating circumstances

Circumstances relating to the commission of a crime that may be considered to reduce the blameworthiness of the offender

concurrent sentence

One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and served at the same time. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence for a previous offense, which is served at the same time as the previous sentence

consecutive sentence

One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and served in sequence with the other sentence. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence for a previous offense, which is added to the previous sentence, thus increasing the maximum time the offender may be confined or under supervision.

voluntary / advisory sentencing guidelines

Recommended sentencing policies that are not required by the law.

Retribution

Revenge n. a repayment; a deserved punishment

good time

The amount of time deducted from time to be served in prison on a given sentence as a consequence of good behavior

gain time

The amount of time deducted from time to be served in prison on a given sentence as a consequence of participation in special projects or programs

Sentencing

The imposition of a criminal sanction by a judicial authority

alternative sentencing

The use of court-ordered community service, home detention, day reporting, drug treatment, psychological counseling, victim-offender programming, or intensive supervision in lieu of other, more traditional sanctions, such as imprisonment and fines

Incapacitation

The use of imprisonment or other means to reduce the likelihood that an offender will commit future offenses

presentencing investigation

an investigation performed by a probation officer that provides information about the convicted offender to a judge or jury in order that they can apply.

justice reinvestment

concept that prioritizes use of alternatives to incarceration for persons convicted of eligible non-violent crimes, standardizes use of risk assessments instruments in pretrial detention, authorizes use of early-release for prisoners who meet requirements, and reinvests savings from such initiatives into effective crime-prevention programs

writ of habeas corpus

court order that the authorities show cause for why they are holding a prisoner in custody. Deters unlawful imprisonment.

capital offense

crime punishable by death

restoration

goal of a criminal sentencing that attempts to make the victim "whole again"

equity

sentencing principle, based on concerns with social equality, that holds that similar crimes should be punished with the same degree of severity, regardless of the social or personal characteristics of the offenders.

diversion

suspension of criminal proceedings before sentencing and referral to a private agency

capital punishment

the death penalty