Evolving Standards of Decency and Criminal Justice Concepts

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to evolving standards of decency and criminal justice systems.

Evolving Standards of Decency

Refers to the changing societal views on what constitutes acceptable punishment, leading to reevaluations of practices like the death penalty.

Due Process Revolution

The expansion of legal rights for the accused during the 1960s, which included protections against arbitrary punishment and increased judicial oversight.

Systemic Challenges

Issues such as racial disparities in incarceration and socio-economic status impacting justice outcomes, contributing to an unequal system.

Backlash

The reaction against the expansion of rights in the 1960s, fueling punitive policies and mass incarceration in the following decades.

Aggravating Circumstances

Factors that make a crime more severe and are considered during sentencing, often influencing death penalty cases.

Standardless Discretion

Lack of clear guidelines in applying the death penalty, leading to arbitrary and discriminatory outcomes, highlighted in Furman v. Georgia.

Guided Discretion

Revised death penalty statutes after Furman v. Georgia, providing juries with specific factors to guide sentencing decisions.

Mandatory Death Sentence

Laws imposing automatic death penalty for certain crimes, deemed unconstitutional for neglecting mitigating factors.

Gregg v. Georgia

A landmark Supreme Court case that reinstated the death penalty, ruling that statutes with 'guided discretion' were constitutional.

McCleskey v. Kemp

A Supreme Court ruling stating that statistical evidence of racial disparities in death penalty application was insufficient to prove discrimination.

Equal Protection

The principle ensuring individuals are treated equally under law, often challenged in the context of racially biased death penalty applications.

Race of Defendant Bias

Documented patterns showing defendants of color are more likely to receive the death penalty, especially when the victim is white.

Regression Analysis

A statistical method used to examine the influence of race on sentencing outcomes in death penalty cases.

Death Eligibility

Criteria that must be met for a defendant to be eligible for the death penalty, often related to aggravating circumstances.

Cultural Determinism

The belief that culture shapes behavior and societal outcomes, impacting the application of the death penalty.

Fallacy of Misplaced Depth

Perception of an issue as more complex than it is, could relate to oversimplified justifications for harsh sentencing laws.

Workhouse

Institutions historically used to control and reform the impoverished population by providing work and shelter.

Panopticon

A prison design allowing a watchman to observe all inmates without them knowing, creating a sense of constant surveillance.

Idleness

The perceived lack of productive activity among inmates, historically viewed negatively within penal systems.

Infiernillos

Spanish term for 'little hells,' referring to small, overcrowded solitary confinement cells in Mexican prisons.

Bibliotherapy

The use of books as therapeutic tools in correctional settings to address psychological issues among inmates.

Hands-Off Doctrine

A period when courts refrained from engaging in prison administration, deferring to correctional officials.

Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)

A 1996 act aimed at reducing frivolous lawsuits by imposing stricter requirements on inmates filing suits.

Social Movements

Organized efforts to promote or resist societal change, including movements advocating for prison abolition.

Bureaucratization of Prisons

The process whereby prisons become more structured and rule-bound, often leading to dehumanization.

National Standards for Prisons

Guidelines ensuring prisons respect inmate rights while maintaining security, developed by organizations like the ACA.