intro to crim exam 3
sight and sound define
"Sight and sound" protections from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (acts or protect juvi. Youth are suppose to be separated from adult offenders can hear or see or be put in same area as adults) do not apply to transferred juveniles
possible reforms by robert bohm
"it may be impossible to fix capital punishment in the United States, if 'fixing' it means substantially reducing the problems of arbitrary and discriminatory application" The problem with any fixes to capital punishment is that errors and disparate application will always be part of the process Some possible reforms include: -Impose standards for defense attorneys -Improve the handling of evidence -Be skeptical of eyewitness testimony and jailhouse snitches -Require proper training for capital trial judges
according to the CDC: -little evidence supports the idea that transfer laws blank juveniles in general population from violent crime
- deter
gun ownership has always been widespread in the u.s what percentage of households hold gun?
-46%
research has shown hat several problems with current capital punishment practice
-Conviction reversals -Arbitrary application -Cost -General deterrence -Class/gender/race implications
what is the goal of sentencing
-prevent future crime though -retribution -rehabilitation -incapacitiation -specific deterrence -general deterrence
weakened family/civic life due to incarceration
-weakens marriage prospects -women vieww incarcerated men more unfavorable than than chronically unemployed -it physically and emotionallyseperates family - brings shame and stigma to both spouses -divorse is 3-4 times more likely - PATERNAL not maternal incarcerations results more likely in worsens behavior and has mental problems in children -stigma can apply to whole family which is not good
many of these youth are incarcerated in adult jails and prisons
1 out of 100 new prisoners are under age 18 "Sight and sound" protections from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act do not apply to transferred juveniles
what percentage of all death eligible offenders have been excused under super due process however what might not be included in this number
1% worst of worst may not be included like green river kiler who killed 48 people was sentenced to life without parole
public attitude in 1920 about sex offenders
1) "Sex offenders exhibit moral degeneracy and compulsive sickness" 2) "Sex offender recidivism is common and treatment is pointless" 3) "Due to sex offender pathologies, these offenders require incapacitation to prevent recidivism"
the public (wrongly) views sex offenders as a homogenous group of deviants who target strangers and offend repeatedly also what is the percentages of sex offender/non offenders committing another crime
1) Convicted sex offenders are a diverse group (with regard to demographic characteristics, victim preferences, and motivations) 2) Few have psychiatric disorders or compulsive desires to offend 3) People convicted of sex offenses are often "offending generalists" (as opposed to "offending specialists") 4) Most sexual offenses (as many as 98%) are committed by acquaintances rather than strangers 5) Based on data on released prisoners... 5% of sex offenders go on to commit another sex offense 22% of NON-sex offenders go on to commit a sex offense 41% of sexual assault offenders go on to commit another crime of any type (a substantially lower rate than property offenders) - sex offenders are less likely to recividate
incarceration can produce inequality in the labor market through several mechanism limited labor market prospects
1) It erodes the (already shaky) job skills of those incarcerated 2) It artificially lowers the unemployment rate for political gain
several types of determinate sentencing policies including
1) Mandatory minimums: For certain offenses (e.g., crack cocaine possession), a judge can sentence above a statutory minimum, but s/he cannot sentence below it 2) Three-strikes laws: Require that any offender convicted of a third felony must be sentenced to a lengthy term in state prison (i.e., habitual offender laws) 3) Truth-in-sentencing: For certain crimes, offenders are required to serve at least 85% of their sentences before being eligible for release
problems with research on extralegal sentencing disparities
1) Race effects might be a "methodological artifact" (i.e., a false effect), but data limitations prevent better analyses 2) Because we typically analyze archival data, we don't know a lot about the motivations and perceptions of individual judges (i.e., if discrimination is actually occurring) 3) Sentencing research tends to ignore the importance of legislatures and sentencing commissions, which set sentencing policy Main point: sentencing guidelines may not reduce disparities Sentencing is inherently discretionary, and that discretion leads to disparities
how might punishment increase crime rather than reduce it (5 things)
1) Reducing perceived risk 2) Strengthening criminal attitudes/skills 3) Defiant reactions 4) Limited labor market prospects 5) Weakened family/civic life -there are many other explanations that are anticipated by labeling theory and other perspectives
problems with sentencing guidelines
1) The commissions that set up the guidelines often used existing sentencing patterns as their models As a result, the overall severity of sentencing changed very little 2) If the commission that set up the guidelines is disbanded (break up), the guidelines are never revised (they are set up and don't move) 3) Judges are allowed to depart from the guidelines (they are a recommendation rather than mandatory)- so its essentially meaningless because they don't have to follow it Departures can be either "upward" (i.e., to a more severe sentence) or "downward" (i.e., to a less severe sentence) In theory, there must be some aggravating or mitigating factor which justifies the guideline departure, but judges often still have the autonomy to depart from the guidelines without providing a convincing rationale In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Booker that federal sentencing guidelines are "advisory," not mandatory
defiant reactions (bold disobedience) sherman 1993 theorizes that, under the following conditions, offenders may react to punishment with defiance
1) The punishment is perceived by the offender as unfair 2) The offender has weak social bonds to the conventional world- world unfair 3) The punishment is perceived as stigmatizing- they look down on us. 4) The offender takes pride in his actions and his isolation from the community
gun policies likely to fail because
1) They don't actually reduce gun ownership (with so many guns available, it is difficult to deny guns to anyone who truly wants one) 2) As discussed, gun ownership does not increase crime
two problems with the research on guns and violence (both relate to correlation vs. causation)
1) Victim injury during a violent crime 2) Macro-level correlations between gun ownership and violence
Compared to adult criminal courts, early juvenile courts...
1) Were less formal, less adversarial, and focused less on guilt vs. innocence and more on the reform and betterment of the child 2) Used special terminology to avoid stigma: juvenile delinquent rather than criminal defendant; adjudication rather than sentencing 3) Afforded adjudicated youth with NO due process protections
why are there extralegal sentencing disparities
1. Judges must make sentencing decisions in a context of "bounded rationality" Judges try to predict which defendants will reoffend However, they have little information about defendants, and they must make sentencing decisions with limited time and resources Trials provide more information about defendants than judges normally have access to 2. Given these limitations, judges rely on "perceptual shorthand" or "cognitive heuristics" (AKA cognitive biases) in sentencing These are oversimplifications that aid in the efficiency (but decrease the accuracy) of decision-making Judges may use the race, gender, age, employment status, etc., of defendants to inform the judges' assessments of the defendants' level of blameworthiness or risk of recidivism
the goal of presumptive sentencing guidelines
1. To make sentencing more consistent (and maybe more punitive) -There was wide variation in the types and lengths of sentences given to defendants in the era of indeterminate sentencing -Sentencing guidelines are designed to ensure more uniformity -They also ensure that defendants are not released early by discretionary parole boards without serving substantial portions of their sentences 2. To eliminate "extralegal" disparities in sentencing -"Legal" disparities in sentencing can be reconciled with statutes, and they reflect legitimate legal grounds for disparities in sentence severity (e.g., the seriousness of the offense) think of this as relevant factors -"Extralegal" disparities include race, gender, age, employment status, marital status or history, educational attainment, place of residence, medical history, mental health - think of this as irrelevant characteristics
what is the prison population incarceration in U.S (on test)
1.5 million (on test)
black females were between blank to be imprisonment than white females
1.6 and 4.1 times more likely
challenges to capital punishment did not occur until
1960s
what percentage of the worlds prisoners are held in the U.S`
22% -2.3 million people are incarcerated in U.S facilities (most are held in state prisons) - U.S corrections cost 74 billion per year -more than 30,000 is spent per prisoners each year
imprisonment rates for black males are
3.8 to 10.5 greater at each age group than white males and 1.4 to 3.1 times greater than rates of hispanic males
whites make up blank of the make prison population (63% of total male population)
32%
how many jurisdiction in U.S have capital punishment statues
35 do and 18 do not
blacks make up blank of the male prison population (but 12% of total male population )
37%
U.S is one of the blank countries to retain death penalty
57
what perctange of homicides were committed with guns what percentage of robberies were committed with guns
67% 24% but not all of those incites involved the USE of the gun
what percent of the worlds nation have abolished death penalty in either law or practice
70%
what is a conditional effect
A conditional effect is one in which the effect of one variable on another variable varies by some third variable In other words, the effect of X on Y is either strengthened or weakened by the presence of (or increases/decreases in) a third variable, Z Examples: A prison experience increases the likelihood of recidivism, but only for male defendants (so it is conditioned by gender. gender is third variable ) Low self-control increases the likelihood of delinquency among juveniles, especially when juveniles have unstructured free time https://youtu.be/sxYrzzy3cq8
Garland: the "culture of control" is characterized by:
A decline of the rehabilitative ideal An emergence of "expressive justice" An emphasis on the importance of the victim The emergence of "new criminologies
state gun laws
A few states ban the purchase of semi-automatic firearms loosely labeled "assault weapons" that are adapted from military guns 14 states require a permit to purchase a handgun, and 6 require a permit to purchase a long gun 5 states have state-mandated handgun registration systems (usually to track the history of guns used in crimes) 9 states require a minimum waiting period of 1 to 14 days between purchase and delivery In 40 states, adults without criminal records can get a permit for concealed carry after passing a background check and completing a class on firearms safety In some states, concealed carry is forbidden or heavily restricted
gamblers fallacy
According to this hypothesis, offenders conclude that their punishment experience was only the result of "bad luck" Because they have "used up" their bad luck, they view the likelihood of detection and punishment in the future to be lower, not higher - i have already got the worst so the likelihood of me getting caught this time is low. iv done it so many times like driving under the influence that i won't get caught. my bad luck ran out so it can only go up from here This is also called "resetting" because offenders' perceptions of risk of punishment are reset by their punishment experiences (also known as "downward updating")
research found from sample et al
An overwhelming majority support the existence of the registry However, nearly 70% of respondents had not accessed the registry Of that 70%, most respondents reported the reason as having no interest in the information Women were more likely than men to express interest in accessing the information Some respondents reported not knowing the registry existed Of the 30% of respondents who did access the registry, the best predictor of access was the presence of children at home Of that 30%, about 60% checked the registry due to safety concerns The authors conclude that sex offender registries have some instrumental effects but are largely symbolic So they wanted it there but never used it. Like a feeling of saftey so it didn't chang anyones behavior it changed how they felt. So they have symbolic goal
federal gun laws
Anyone purchasing a gun from a licensed dealer must pass a background check It is unlawful for a felon to possess a gun, regardless of how it was acquired It is unlawful for a juvenile to possess a gun and to sell to juveniles There is no national registry of guns or gun owners (deliberately, to prevent any mass confiscations by the government) There is no federal gun permit Firearms transfers between private persons are not subject to any background check under federal law
juveniles that are transferred to adult court
Are usually given harsher sentences than youth who were retained in the juvenile justice system -ur birthday doesn't matter anymore. u will also be tried as an adult from now on Receive few educational or vocational services (rehabilitate) -now have the stigma Are less likely to "age out" of crime than retained youth Are 34% more likely to be rearrested than retained youth -this is not deterrent it is very punitive
It is currently unclear what gun control measures would be considered constitutional
Based on survey research, most Americans believe in the right to own guns but also support some moderate regulatory controls States and cities have incorporated a dizzying array of gun control laws, but few seriously restrict all access to guns by non-criminals
frequency- juvi transfer became a much more common occurrence
Between 1988 and 1992, there was a 68% increase in judicially waived cases (a 101% increase for person crimes, 42% increase for property crimes, 91% for drug related crimes, and 90% increase for public order crimes) Waiver has been slightly declining since the 1990s, but the practice of transfer remains frequently used (as many as 250,000 youth are transferred annually across the country)
three important procedural reforms to capital cases that came from the gregg decision- comprise super due process
Bifurcated trials: a two-stage trial with a guilt phase and a sentencing phase. two separate events you say are they guilty and then u say should they get capital punishment Proportionality review: a process whereby state appellate courts compare the sentence in a case with sentences from other similar cases. so this is expensive Collateral review: defendants may challenge their convictions and/or sentences in the state and federal systems. These procedures form what is called "super due process," which should ensure that the death penalty is not "arbitrary (based on personal not rational reasoning ) and capricious (brutal- unfair)". moving away from crime control model. enforce uniformity in this process
some states have attempted to cross national comparisons between the U.S and great britain
Britain does have very strict gun laws and lower violent crime rates Britain had similar laws to those of the U.S. until the 1920s However, violent crime in Great Britain was already very low, and relative to violent crime in the U.S. it did not change much (if anything, it increased) since the passage of those laws -so basically not comparable
in past CJS did not consitently punish sex offenders they...
Common sanctions: low likelihood of arrest, diversion, some forms of treatment, lenient sentencing The CJS tended to treat most sex offenders as less harmful or dangerous than other types of offenders
The criminological theories dominants in the 1960s and 1970s were primarily psychological and sociological
Concepts: anomie, relative deprivation, subcultural theory, labeling Causes of crime: poorly adapted individuals, social injustices, clashes of cultural norms, deprivation of education/jobs, poor socialization - Solutions: individualized correctional treatments, support for families, and social reform
The 1980s and beyond saw a resurgence in control theories
Concepts: social controls/social bonds, situational controls, criminals as rational actors, deterrence, self-control Causes of crime: failure of authority, family, community, state, self - -offender is headed the wrong way just because of psychological problems but there has to be a control in place to stop hi. hes headed toward the goal there has to be a defender or he will score -when self control is not in place we are inclined towards crime - why state control is a good thing so incarcerate more people these exist to reduce crime Solutions: strengthen controls and prevent the criminal event
effects of sex offender policies related to offender
Create overly restrictive and punitive conditions that hinder reentry Increase stress, isolation, and frustration The "tiers" of offender dangerousness identified via Megan's Law (and other laws) may penalize lower-level offenders
by 1980 the system of indeterminate sentencing was criticized for several reasons
Crime was rising, research showed that "rehabilitation doesn't work," and indeterminate sentencing was viewed as soft on criminals Parole boards' determinations of a prisoner's "readiness for release" were flawed because they were based on in-prison behavior Judges were free to consider factors in sentencing beyond the case itself (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, age, SES, etc.) The punishments handed out by judges and parole boards were arbitrary and inconsistent these criticisms led to the replacement of indeterminate with determinate sentencing
in 1980s and 1990s saw several important trends
Crime was the most covered of all types of news stories Criminologists warned that the crime rate would double: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjHTrpIlddw) This widespread fear of crime led the public to demand a tougher juvenile justice system that relied more on harsh punishments The public believed that tougher sanctions would act as specific and (especially) general deterrents
high profile cases between the 1930s and 1950s gave rise to civil commitment laws
Example: Albert Fish, who was involved with sexually assaulting more than 400 children, homicide, and cannibalism Cases like this led to public support for indefinitely incapacitating in mental hospitals "sexual defectives" or "sexual psychopaths" who were seen as untreatable By statute, once a civilly committed offender is deemed "no longer dangerous," he can be released These commitments are usually served after prison terms Little due process is used to determine who is civilly committed No consistent method of what "cured" means is used Low-level sexual offenders can be committed for long periods of time
There have also been some studies on decreases in the strictness of gun control laws as well
Example: making concealed carry more widely available These studies tend to find that these policy changes neither increase nor decrease violent crime
exposure to others in prison might foster the adoption of values and attitudes conducive (likely or possible) to crime
Examples: "hard work is for suckers," "the criminal justice system is unfair or hypocritical," "living in the present is preferable to striving for long-term goals" Because prisons are socially isolated places, it is easy for antisocial attitudes to persist unchecked Inmates may learn "techniques of neutralization" from others -These are mental tricks that allow people to commit crime -They include denial of injury, denial of victim, denial of responsibilities, condemning the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties -unfortunately not many studies have examined antisocial attitudes before and after incarceration
States with the highest rates of transfer (per 100,000 juvenile cases involving youth ages 10 and older)
Florida 165 Oregon 96 Arizona 84 Tennessee 43
chiricos, barrik, bales, and bontrager 2007 study about labor market and what'd they find
Florida has a unique law that applies to probationers called "adjudication withheld" When adjudication is withheld, the felon label is not applied to the individual—no civil rights are lost and no employers become aware of the felony conviction About half of probationers have their felony adjudication withheld The authors found that people who were adjudicated as felons were more likely to recidivate than those who had their adjudication withheld (meaning people with the stigma are more likely to reoffend)
rehabilitation
Future crime is prevented by altering a defendant's behavior through educational/vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling
specific deterrence
Future crime is prevented by frightening the defendant (or informing his rational calculus/decision-making)
general deterrence
Future crime is prevented by frightening the public (or informing their rational calculus/decision-making)
incapacitation
Future crime is prevented by physically removing a criminally-inclined individual from the population so putting them in jail
retribution
Future crime is prevented by removing a victim's (or the public's) desire for avengement against the defendant -we punish because we r taking societal revenge. u violated collective conscious so to punish u we put u away as vengeance for what u have done
reading: zatz
Gender is a strong correlate of sentence severity, with men sentenced more harshly than comparable females Age is somewhat predictive of sentence severity, with 18-29 year olds sentenced more harshly than older defendants Very few studies focus on employment/socio-economic status, but the available evidence shows unemployed and poorer defendants are sentenced more harshly The evidence for race/ethnicity is mixed, but the general consensus is that there are weak but statistically significant effects The effects of race/ethnicity get weaker by adding more control variables, including the guideline recommended sentence.
David Garland presented his "culture of control" thesis in his book The Culture of Control (2001)
He argues that, for various reasons, in the past 30 years people have become especially attuned to the "problem of crime" People have begun to care less and less about rehabilitation and more and more about punishment People want more security and control by the state
statistics on how common death penalty is
In 19 of those 35 jurisdictions, fewer than 10 inmates have been executed since 1976 3 of those 19 jurisdictions have not executed anyone since 1976 5 death penalty jurisdictions have executed two-thirds of the inmates executed since 1976 (TX, VA, OK, VA, and MO) Texas alone accounts for 37% of all executions since 1976
super due process is quite costly
In 2000, the cost was estimated to be between $2.5 million and $5 million per execution (for the entire process) Extraordinary cases cost even more Ted Bundy's case in 1989 cost Florida $10 million Timothy McVeigh's case in 2011 cost the federal government $100 million so it is not true than keeping them alive would cost more, it doesn't New Jersey and New Mexico recently abolished the death penalty due to the issue of high cost alone The costs of a death sentence will always be more than the costs of a life without parole (LWOP) sentence because super due process is only mandated in capital cases Capital trials that do not result in death sentences have no "return" on the investment of resources
studies show that punishment impacts offenders perceptions of risk of future punishment reducing perceived risk
In contrast to the specific deterrence hypothesis, research shows that people who have been arrested/incarcerated in the past perceive a lower probability of being punished in the future than others. they think they know what they did wrong in the past so they don't think they will be caught again inf they reoffend
Since the founding of the juvenile court, the landscape of juvenile justice as changed dramatically
In the 1960s, the Supreme Court ruled in several landmark cases that juveniles were entitled to the same constitutional rights as adults (i.e., the "due process revolution") In the 1980s-1990s, juvenile justice became much more punitive
other factors that likely contributed to the crime drop
Increases in police force size across cities The adoption of order-maintenance policing strategies Improved economic conditions, especially for young unskilled men (reduced criminal motivation) Increases in Hispanic immigration, marriage, and teen birth rates Declines in the use of lead in gasoline and paint
many states decided to adopt new death penalty statues to address the supreme courts objections
Instituting mandatory death sentences Instituting "guided discretion" death sentences (i.e., providing guidelines to judges and juries) The goal of each is to limit the direction of judges and juries
reading: sample et al introduces the concept of the instrumental purposes and the symbolic purposes of law
Instrumental purposes: The law produces changes to the behaviors of the people responsible for creating or alleviating a public problem (e.g., offenders, CJS officials, or citizens) -When people amend their behavior In result of the law then instrumental goal is achieved. Symbolic purposes: The law is passed when policymakers want to be viewed favorably by the public (e.g., to make them feel safer), and the law itself does little to address the problem at hand. they exist just to exist -Exist so how people feel, understand, perceive. Doesn't change what people do but it changes how people feel
Bases on his review of corrections research from 1945-1967, Robert Martinson (1974) argued that... decline of the rehabilitative ideal
It is possible that "nothing works" in corrections to reduce recidivism Most programs probably do not increase the likelihood of recidivism -theres programs that may work but nothing works meaning they don't increase crime they just don't decrease recidivism we should be punishing to punish not to rehabilitate Expensive programs are often just as effective (or non-effective) as less expensive programs We should consider deterrence, but also consider both incapacitation and punishment "for its own sake"
jacob wetterling act 1994 - 1989 in minnesota a 11 year old jacob was abducted at gunpoint and never seen again
It mandates that each state create a central registry of offenders convicted of sexual offenses (and other crimes against children) Sex offenders were required to provide their residential addresses to law enforcement (but NOT the public) The policy included ALL sex offenders, regardless of recidivism risk States had to comply or some federal funding would be denied This was the first federal law to require a sex offender registration system
jessica law 2005
Jessica's Law" (2005) in Florida requires that any person who commits a crime against a minor will be subject to life-long GPS monitoring These devices allow law enforcement to determine where prior offenders were at the time of a sexual offense
gender and age often condition the effects of race/ethnicity
Judges view female defendants more favorably than males for a variety of reasons (e.g., children, the "chivalry hypothesis," etc.) It makes little sense that judges would consider race "in a vacuum" In addition to race, judges might also "automatically" consider the gender and age of the defendant when assessing "blameworthiness" or "dangerousness" Research shows that the subcategories of "young Black males" or "young Hispanic males" are more important for sentencing than race, gender, and age independently (depends on offense type like hispanic would score highest for drug use but overall they are not highest) judge considers whole person not just race so like gender and age
according to self reported data guns are used in self defense FAR MORE OFTEN than they are used by offenders
Kleck and Gertz (1995): crime victims in the U.S. used guns about 2 million times in 1993, compared to 600,000 crimes using guns Often, defensive gun use occurs against criminals without guns Victims who use guns defensively are consistently less likely to be injured/lose property than those using other strategies/no strategy The guns of victims are almost never taken away during the event The wounding or killing of an attacker is very rare
problem: victim injury during a violent crime
Many studies found that in criminal events where victims used guns they were more likely to be injured Conclusion: the use of a gun increases the likelihood of being injured during a crime However, when victims were asked, "which happened first: using the gun or being injured?" being injured nearly always happened first The defensive use of the gun typically brought an end to the crime
reverse causation with guns
More guns may cause more crime, but more crime may also lead people to purchase more guns for self-protection Very special statistical tools must be used to account for this possibility
race implications in capital punishment
Of 28 studies of race and the death penalty, over half find that race is a significant predictor of a death sentence -might matter in certain cases A 2008 study found that in Harris County, TX, Blacks were sentenced to death nearly twice as often as Whites In Philadelphia, Blacks had a nearly 4 times greater chance of receiving a death sentence than similarly situated White defendants
some evidence that guns have a deterrent effect
Only 9% of U.S. residential burglaries occur when the victim is home, compared to 43% of British residential burglaries
depending on jurisdiction, sex offending can be subject to
Ordinances that forbid residence within a certain distance (e.g., 1,000 feet) from a school/playground/park/day care center These can be in place for ALL sexual offenders, not just those who commit offenses against children Depending on levels of urban density, these policies may make living in large sections of cities (or even entire towns) impossible GPS monitoring "Jessica's Law" (2005) in Florida requires that any person who commits a crime against a minor will be subject to life-long GPS monitoring These devices allow law enforcement to determine where prior offenders were at the time of a sexual offense Special identifiers on drivers' licenses (including in Florida) Internet identifiers provided to law enforcement
Martinson's arguments framed the debate about corrections and rehabilitation
Policymakers relied on his review of the research to reduce the role of treatment programs and expand incarceration
An important consequence: allowing politicians and policymakers to openly express punitive sentiments
Politicians express the views that they think the public holds These policies are justified as "expressions" of public sentiments
what can inmates learn new techniques of committing crime
Prison life provides a lot of idle time, and this time is filled with conversations with other prisoners about past and future crimes Prisoners can learn about new targets, new techniques (e.g., the use of new weapons), and how to smuggle contraband or avoid detection While criminals can learn from their own experiences, they can also learn from the experiences of others as well
there has been laws designed to protect the public from sex offenders such as
Prison sentences, civil commitment, and broad residence restrictions have become common These policies are designed to increase public safety, especially the safety of children
The last 30 years have seen the appearance of "just deserts" retribution as a general policy goal
Proportionality and fixed sentencing The death penalty, chain gangs, corporal punishment Public shaming and humiliation (e.g., sex offender registries) Punitive juvenile justice and community corrections
effects of sex offender policy related to the community
Provide a false sense of security for neighborhood residents (since most sex offenses are committed by first-time sex offenders who are not on offender registries) Increase hostility, vigilantism, vandalism, etc. Perpetuate myths about sex offender behavior and recidivism
when some or all of these elements are present (defiance) punishment can have a criminogenic effect
Punishment that is regarded as excessive and is imposed on a weakly-bonded offender can result in defiance toward law As a result, the offender embraces his "other" status and reoffends
Since Martinson's work, support for the "welfarist rationale" for CJS interventions has continued to fade
Reduced emphasis on rehabilitation as a goal of prison - Rehabilitative programs are in use, but only target the most "high risk" offenders Sentencing is no longer shaped by indeterminacy and early release
causes of employment consequences of incarcerations
Selection: Those who go to prison would not find work even in the absence of a criminal record. VERY IMPORTANT Transformation: Prison changes inmates/makes them unemployable. relationship with deviant peers. not same person going in and coming out Reverse credentialing: The stigma/label of prison is most important
important question is whether or not executions prevent people (other than the offender being executed) from committing crimes. what did research find about this (general deterrence)
Some early research found that the death penalty does have a general deterrent effect -it is so mixed that we can't say if it is deterrence or not for certain In 1975, Isaac Erlich found that an additional execution per year is associated with 7 or 8 fewer murders Unfortunately, dozens of replications of his study failed to find the same effect that Erlich found
problem with guns: macro level correlations between gun ownership and violence
Some studies of cities and states have found that there is a positive correlation between gun ownership and crime, including homicide Conclusion: the increased presence of guns increases crime However, this overlooks the problem of reverse causation More guns may cause more crime, but more crime may also lead people to purchase more guns for self-protection Very special statistical tools must be used to account for this possibility The most methodologically rigorous studies have found that more guns do not cause more crime, but more crime does cause more guns While the presence of more guns in the hands of criminals might lead to more crime, this effect is balanced out by the violence-reducing effects of guns in the hands of victims
incarceration reduces the employment prospects of an already vulnerable populations limited labor market prospects
Targets those with few job skills and low educational attainment Creates gaps in inmate employment histories Opportunities for vocational/educational training are often limited Removes inmates from pro-social networks and the possibility of non-low status jobs and strengthens ties with "deviant others"
The Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) that...
The 2nd Amendment recognizes the individual right keep and bear arms (including handguns) for all citizens for home use, not just for those involved in militia service Outright bans of guns for private citizens would be unconstitutional
problems with the death penalty
The Supreme Court took on faith that "super due process" would work because there was no research to support this supposition (uncertain belief) - just cause problems doesn't mean that death penalty is wrong!! Evidence since 1977 has shown that super due process has NOT completely amended the problems cited in Furman v. Georgia
several new trends in juvenile justice that has emerged since 2005
The death penalty for juveniles was abolished in the Roper v. Simmons decision Some states will remove juveniles from adult prisons and local jails, even if they are being "incarcerated as adults" A few states have raised the age of juvenile court exclusion to 18 (rather than 16 or 17) Some states have decreased the number of crimes that mandate transfer via statutory exclusions Life without the possibility of parole was abolished for juveniles not convicted of homicide in the Graham v. Florida decision
The victim has taken center stage in criminal justice policy victim importance
The interests and feelings of victims (including potential victims) are used to invoke punitive crime control Victims stand alongside politicians in press conferences Laws are named after victims (e.g., Megan's law, the Brady bill) The victim is a righteous figure whose suffering must be expressed Being "for" victims automatically assumes being tough on offenders
the crime trends in the 1980 and 1990 has several consequences for the juvi court for what
The juvenile court became more punitive in its sanctioning Transfer of juveniles to adult court expanded with regard to 1) frequency, 2) breadth, and 3) the decision-maker
megans law 1996 -7 year sexually assailed and killed by a man living across the street from her home why was this atypical what did this argue against wetterling case
The offender had been convicted of sexual offenses against children before and lived with two other child molesters This case is atypical for a few reasons: 1) Very few sexual offenders commit homicides 2) The crime received unprecedented media attention Megan's parents and neighbors argued that the Jacob Wetterling Act was too lenient They argued that the sex offender residence information collected by law enforcement should be made available to the PUBLIC Megan's Law established this system of "community notification"
the expansion of transfer is also concerning because
The practice is at odds with the roots of the juvenile justice system It overlooks the developmental and psychological differences between children and adults Transferred juveniles are often sentenced more harshly than adults Juveniles are housed alongside experienced adult offenders Youth are in danger of victimization in prisons
race of victim is highly important in the blank decision in regards to capital punishment
The race of the victim is also highly important in the prosecutorial decision to proceed to trial (rather than plea bargain)
An understanding of what "victims" want becomes an end in itself victim importance
The victim experience is taken as "common and collective," and specific victims are used to speak for us all The victim becomes a proxy for Everyman
inmates may learn techniques of neutralization from others
These are mental tricks that allow people to commit crime They include denial of injury, denial of victim, denial of responsibilities, condemning the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties
according to a review by the CDC, most studies find no effects at all of gun control laws on gun violence
These effects are consistent across many policy types Examples: concealed carry restrictions, waiting periods, gun registrations, sentencing enhancements for gun crimes Those which do find some effects typically do not account for selection bias (i.e., spurious factors)
sentencing guidelines
These guidelines are set by sentencing commissions made up of CJS officials, legislators, and citizens Presumptive guidelines provide recommended sentences based on the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal record of the defendant For each defendant, a numerical score is generated based on these factors as well as the presence of any "sentencing enhancements" or official aggravating factors Judges compare these scores score to the guideline matrix to find out what the recommended sentence is (usually prison vs. non-prison)
a series of federal laws have been passed which are designed to streamline state level policies- sex offenders
These policies take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to sex offenders The policies are often justified through high profile cases of sex offenses against children Public outcry was the predominant force in passing these laws
the learning of new criminal skills can make the prospect of crime upon release more attractive
These skills can give the prisoner confidence in avoiding punishment This confidence can reduce (or even eliminate) the specific deterrent effects of the punishment itself
The victim's high social class/social status is also predictive of whether a prosecutor will seek the death penalty. what does this include
These social status variables include: wealthy, married/widowed, college educated, White or Hispanic, no prior criminal record
The new goals of punishment are retribution, incapacitation, and the management of risk
This trend affected policymakers, academics, and practitioners Rehabilitation became an impossible ideal, if not a dangerous and counterproductive approach
the decision maker for juvi
Traditionally, ONLY juvenile court judges had the power to transfer youth to the adult court In the early years of the juvenile court, communities sometimes wanted violent juveniles to be punished rather than rehabilitated For each case that comes before the juvenile court, the judge can make the decision to transfer the case to the criminal court When the judge makes the decision, it is called "judicial waiver" Almost every state still has judicial discretionary waiver in their state codes Most states have spelled out criteria for transfer (e.g., age, offense, criminal history, and amenability to treatment) People became concerned that juvenile court judges were too lenient
The most methodologically rigorous studies have found that more guns do not cause more crime, but more crime does cause more guns
While the presence of more guns in the hands of criminals might lead to more crime, this effect is balanced out by the violence-reducing effects of guns in the hands of victims
as a result of collateral review process
a large number of convictions and sentences has been reversed Most such cases are due to violations of constitutional protections Examples: ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutor misconduct, unconstitutional jury instructions, judge/jury bias, etc.
largest disparity between white and black male prisoners is among inmates
ages 18 to 19
juvenile justice system invoked the principle of parens patria as
an ideological guide (the state has the obligation to act as parent) -state as parent. the state can and should intervene in the lives of all children. the state is the highest parent to children. they are higher up than the childs own parents
U.S has rapidly explained its corrections systems
between 1980 and 2008, the number of people under some form of correctional supervisions rose from 1.8 million to 7.3 million - prison populations rose to 1.5 million -prison and probation populations rose
the rise in crime in the 1960s led many americans to
buy guns
why is civil commitment controversial
civil commitment- indefinite capacity no longer deemed dangerous. this is really hard to assess
incarceration destabilizes neighborhoods by creating a system of blank among residents
coercive mobility -The constant movement between prison and neighborhood can reach a threshold where further punishment only increases crime -cylce. go to prison and they go back to same neighborhood and reoffend. -Housing restrictions can compound the issue of reintegrating returning ex-inmates
jails and prisons cost more to build and operate than forms of
community corrections (probation) - they are essentially permanent investments, and they remain in use for decades after being built -the decision to expand the prison system cannot be easily undone -recent trends show that the prison population is beginning to decline
megans law established
community notification
for most felony offenses, sentencing options typically include
community supervision, local jail, or state prison Among these, state prison is typically viewed as the most punitive For misdemeanors, many additional options are available
according to zatz, the effects of race/ethnicity ons sentence severity are
conditional upon other variables
who can influence the decisions for sentencing
court actors -prosecutor, defense, and probation department can make recommendations -offender has right to address the court prior to sentencing and make ask for a lenient sentence -the victim or victims family can give a victim impact statement which describes the effects of the crime on their lives
sentencing hearing is a blank in the criminal justice process
critical stage -one of the judges most difficult responsibilities -multipel sanctions can sometimes be imposed - judges must consider the goals of punishment; retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and specific/general deterrence
according to the NCVS, crime has been
decreasing since 1990s -crime remained stable in the 1970 and began to decline in the 1980 -slight increase in violent crime in the early 1990s -there has been a steady decline in self reported victimization since 1994 - homicide follows the same pattern
during intermediate sentencing this system gives judges and parole boards the ability to give defendants
defendants "tailored" and "individualized" sentences This system thus gives judges and parole boards a lot of discretion
empirical findings show that at the individual level and at the community level, harsher punishment blank
does not reduce crime
some studies find a brutalization effect meaning
executions cause more murders rather than prevent them - short term one to two day affect after execution homicides increase instead of decrease
life without the possibility of parole was abolished for juveniles not convicted of homicide in what decision
graham verse florida
the transfer of youth to the adult criminal justice system typically results in blank subsequent crime, including violent crime
greater
the total gun shock in the u.s has blank since 1960s though the share of households with guns has remained the same
grown enormously -an enormous supply of guns is available to criminals and non criminals alike
36% of guns are what kind
handguns so that means long guns like riffles is 64%
Various forms of bans (e.g., of concealed carry, "assault weapons" or other types of guns) are still possible but blank Thus, the most likely trend is minor and ineffectual changes in gun laws (i.e., "symbolic")
highly unlikely
one of the most important determinate sentencing reforms was the
imposition of presumptive sentencing guidelines Judges compare these scores score to the guideline matrix to find out what the recommended sentence is (usually prison vs. non-prison)
which goal in terms of sentencing does criminal justice achieve the MOST
incapacitation
crime has decreased and we see that incarcerated rates
increase
if guns are used during a criminal incident the net effect is that the likelihood of the victim dying blank
increases
meta analysis (klick and sever2017) found that 38% of the relevant studies reported that punishment
increases crime
before 1970, the sentencing model in state and federal systems were
indeterminate 1) Legislatures enact sentencing laws that set wide ranges of punishments for certain offenses 2) Judges sentence an offender anywhere between the minimum and maximum sentence, usually sentencing offenders to a range within the range set by the statute 3) Parole boards decide when the prisoner is "ready for release" while serving his/her term
power of who could transfer a juveniles was blank and is now blank
it was only juvenile court judges but now the prosecutor can decide the charging decision and where (adult or juvi )
support for moderate gun controls is blank among the public but blank
its widespread but weak
what is the first law that mandates the sex offender registry only available to law enforcement
jacob wetterling act. at that time only law enforcement could view it but now public can
sentencing decision is imposed by the... and where
judge at the sentencing hearing
new modes of transfer take the discretionary power of the transfer decision away from
judges
the juvenile court was designed to be a system in which
justice is individualized and oriented toward rehabilitation, not standardized and oriented toward punishment - youth are not stigmatized by the prices or the punishment
the negatively affected by the crimes of a friend or a loved one are known as on exam
legal bystanders
according to 19 studies, offenders who HAVE guns during the crime are
less likely to attack the victim in first place (guns are often used for intimidation
the use of guns by aggressors produces a blank effect meaning
lethality effect- if an attack occurs the victim is more likely to die
possible solution for employment consequences of incarceration would be to whats the problem with this
limit employer access to criminal record information This is also known as "banning the box" (i.e., banning the check box that asks applicants whether they have criminal records) Problem: in the absence of this information, employers may (overtly or implicitly) associate race with a criminal record and make their hiring practices even more discriminatory
the policies of determinate sentenced are designed to
limit judicial discretion and standardize punishment
one goal of the gregg decision was to
limit jury nullification Jury nullification is a jury's deliberate refusal to apply the law (usually based on a sense of justice, morality, or fairness) they know defendants guilty but ays not guilty cuz they are against the death penalty anyway
some states have once an adult always adult statues which means
mandates transfer if a youth has been transferred for a previous offense
this reversal rate is blank than the rate of noncapital felony cases
many times higher
15 counties (9 of which are in texas) account for 30% of all execution this is a reflection of
meaning this is a prosecutorial behavior not jury behavior
The costs of a death sentence will always be blank than the costs of a life without parole (LWOP) sentence because super due process is only mandated in capital cases
more
much research has shown that killers of whites, regardless of their race, are
more likely to be sentenced to death than are killers of non whites -race of victim matters A LOT
did mass incarceration cause the crime drop
most scholars agree that mass incarceration is the factor that contributed the most to the crime rate (10-35%) problem: prison populations might decrease crime but crime also increases prison populations
opposition among gun owners is blank but blank they are for guns??
narrower but far more intense
capital punishment is almost entirely given to who and why
non wealthy people Why? The wealthy are able to hire the best attorneys, which is one of the best predictors of whether a defendant is executed In Harris County, Texas (the capital punishment capital of the world), all but 1 of the 504 defendants indicted for murder were poor
class implication people say that the
one without the capital gets the punishment
the sentencing length in indeterminate sentencing was determined by who
parole board
sentencing
penalty is formally imposed on the defendant after found guilty at trial
the most people that have a gun are
people with lowest violence but u wouldn't expect that because we have a high gun violence
the u.s has a greater proportion of its citizens in..
prisons than any other country (716 per 100,000)
juvenile court was established by
progressive reformers at end of 19th century
prosecutorial direct file
prosecutors are given the authority to file cases directly into juvenile or criminal court
the american vicil liberties union and the NAACP legal defense and educational fund criticized...
racial disparities in its adminstration
the negative consequence of most interest to scholars is
recidivism - reoffending following punishment
most owners of guns own them for what reasons owning guns is linked with what activities
recreational -use them for rural hunting but half of them is for self protection
Between 1976 and 2012, 140 death row inmates were
released after evidence of their innocence was discovered It is unknown how many death row inmates are awaiting execution despite their innocence It is also not known how many innocent inmates have been executed
what were the child savers concerned with
remaining children to CJS was causing an increase in crime
the death penalty for juvinels was abolished in what case
roper verse simmons decision
furman verse georgia 1972 decisosn was a landmark case because
ruling:unfettered jury discretion in imposing death sentences results in "arbitrary and capricious" sentencing, thus violating the 14th Amendment right to due process and 8th Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment
between 1976 and 2012. 140 death row inmates were released after evidence of their innocence was discovered
so its unknown who may be innocent and how many of them have been executed already
race and ethnicity effects are also conditioned by
social class Zatz uses crack mothers and O.J. Simpson to illustrate this issue - class is just as important than race (reread this section over) -cant consider race unless we consider social class
what factor is most important in how a case will be prosecuted
social class because those with capital can ensure it doesn't happen because they hire the best attorneys and get out of it. mobilize resources in their favor
most of these prisoners are held in a blank prison
state
statutory exclusion
state legislatures can transform the law to completely exclude certain offense types (e.g., serious violent offenses) from juvenile court jurisdiction
the country with he most comparable number is blank, where about blank percentage of households have guns (and mandated military service)
switzerland and 33%
what state accounts for 37% of all executions by death penalty since 1976
texas
in 1975 what did isaac erlich find
that an additional execution per year is associated with 7 or 8 fewer murders
what did meta analysis yang and lester 2008 find
that support for general deterrence of the death penalty is inconclusive
Two important mechanisms that expanded the breadth of transfer:
the "age of exclusion- exam" and eligible offense types 1. Lowering the "age of exclusion" from the juvenile court. age of exclusion- once u turn 18 you move out of court. they don't want u anymore u will be tried The age of exclusion the maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction 23 states currently have no minimum age requirements of transfer to adult court by increasing the breath you increase the frequency Among the other states, the minimum age for transfer ranges from 10 to 15 years old 2. States expanded the list of crimes that could result in transfer As a result, even low-level (e.g., drug) crimes can result in transfer These offenses would traditionally be handled by the juvenile court
gregg verse georgia 1976 decisiosn
the Court held that guided discretion statutes WERE constitutional, and executions in the U.S. resumed in 1977 Guided discretion statutes strikes a "reasonable balance" between giving the jury some discretion while allowing it to consider both aggravating and mitigating factors Aggravating factors increase the blameworthiness of the criminal act (e.g., having a prior criminal history) more serious Mitigating factors reduce the blameworthiness of (but do not excuse) the criminal act (e.g., being under a certain age) less serious If mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors, then the appropriate sentence is most often life imprisonment
challenging capital punishment is sometimes considered
the final act of the civil rights movement
progressives were concerned about the toll that
the pathological urban environment was taking on children
whether a murderer gets the death penalty can depend on
the state in which the crime was committed - the county is more important than state it is done in this is a reflection of prosecutorial behavior not jury/judicial behavior
the firman deiciosn did NOT declare the death penalty itself unconstitutional but
the statues under which it was being administer was unconstitutional
collateral consequences
these are UNINTENDED the negative consequences of incarceration - loss of liberty- is intended - unintended is recividism (reoffending after punishment was implemented) -many studies have found that incarceration has had numerous detrimental effect
what may impact whether a death sentence is imposed
timing o the crime (before or after a state abolishes the death penalty
what do presumptive waiver laws mean
transfer is presumed if a juvenile meets certain criteria The burden of proof shifts from the prosecutor to the juvenile offender to show why s/he should not be transferred
sentencing guidelines may not reduce disparities true or false
true it may not reduce because sentencing is discretionary and that discretion leads to disparities
mandatory death sentences were quickly determined to be
unconstitutional
is a broad policy change likely or unlikely - to make a broad policy change it has to occur at what level
unlikely -federal
the pattern of gun ownership is highest in groups of people where blank is lowest -exmaples
violence -higher amount whites than blacks -Higher among middle-aged people than among young people -Higher among married people than among unmarried people -Higher among rich people than among poor people -Higher in rural areas/small towns than in urban areas
politicians gun control positions can be a key issue for
voters who own guns
expressive justice (test)
way of rationalizing or explaining these trends - why the policymaker goes down this path. what they think the people want. - I'm arguing that people want this so this policy will reflect what the people want. - about values- perceived desire of the public
when victims were asked did u use gun first or were u injured and most
were injured first then used gun
judicial waiver
when judge transfers juvi to adult court
guidelines will be more or less punitive based on
where you are - variation across places even across florida. just from different jurisdictions
death penalty is rarely imposed on and why
women, even though women commit roughly 10% of homicides Women comprise 3% of the 20,000 people executed in the U.S. since 1608, and most of those executions occurred before 1866 As of 2012, only 12 women were executed under post-Furman "super due process" why? women offenders are filtered from the process -Gender stereotypes inform the conscious or subconscious attitudes of key actors in the criminal justice process -The aggravating (prior record, premeditation) and mitigating (mental/emotional disturbance, coercion by another person) factors listed in the guidelines favor women
kleck who is this?
would gun control measures have prevented mass shootings?