Chapter 11 Quiz

(b) The death penalty is “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Which of the following answers is NOT an argument used by supporters of the death penalty?

a. The death penalty supports the religious and social values of our country.

b. The death penalty is “cruel and unusual punishment.”

c. The death penalty acts as a deterrent for those who contemplate committing serious crimes.

d. The death penalty is “morally correct.”

The American Revolution

Which event marked the end of transportation of convicts to North America?

Penitentiary

What is the name that was first used for the state or federal correctional institution for incarceration of felony offenders?

(d) The death penalty has been limited in use to the most dangerous of offenders.

How has the use of the death penalty changed over time in the United States?

a. The death penalty was eliminated.

b. The death penalty has been abolished.

c. The death penalty has been used for a growing number of offenses.

d. The death penalty has been limited in use to the most dangerous of offenders.

Incapacitation

Which goal of punishment focuses on keeping dangerous criminals in confinement to eliminate the risk of their repeating their offense in society?

A specific deterrent is focused on individual offenders. General deterrence focuses on preventing other people from committing crime.

How is specific deterrence different than general deterrence?

Restoration

Which goal of punishment is being used if an offender has to meet with their victims and community representatives to discuss their behavior?

Indeterminate sentence

What type of sentence has a sentence of a stated minimum and maximum length?

Sentencing guidelines

In an effort to reduce sentencing disparities based on factors such as race and gender, what was put in place?

Post-conviction

When is a victim impact statement given to the judge?

The southern states

Which states use the death penalty the most?

Proponents of the death penalty

Which side in the death penalty debate argues that the death penalty is needed because it is an effective deterrent?

Furman v. Georgia

Which court case temporarily stopped the death penalty in 1972?

(b) Capital punishment

(c) Incarceration

Which of the following are the most traditional and punitive forms of criminal sanctions used today? Select all that apply.

a. Exile

b. Capital punishment

c. Incarceration

d. Fines

e. Torture

(b) Customs

(c) Religious and political ideals

(e) Economic conditions

Which of the following are factors that have influenced the changes in punishment and correction of criminals through the ages? Select all that apply.

a. Victim’s recommendations

b. Customs

c. Religious and political ideals

d. Prisoner’s recommendations

e. Economic conditions

Felony

After the eleventh century, during the feudal period, forfeiture of land and property was a common punishment for persons who violated law and custom or who failed to fulfill their feudal obligations to their lord. Which of the following terms has its origins in the twelfth century and comes from a term that refers to a breach of faith with one’s feudal lord?

The American Revolution

Between 1717 and 1775, an estimated 10,000 convicts were sent from England to the colonies as workers to make amends for their violations. Which event in history ended the transportation of felons to North America from England?

Reformatories

Once legal philosophers successfully argued that physical punishment should be replaced by periods of confinement and incapacitation, jails and workhouses were used to hold petty offenders. When these were found to be unsuitable for hard-core criminals, prisoners were kept in abandoned ships anchored in rivers and harbors throughout England, until around 1777 when these facilities were found to be degraded. These ships were then replaced with walled institutions called what?

(a) General deterrence

(d) Retribution

Which of the following are among the objectives of criminal sentencing according to the text? Select all that apply.

a. General deterrence

b. Caveat actor

c. Reimbursement

d. Retribution

e. Just desert

(c) Incapacitation

Which of the following goals of punishment has as its objective that criminals will not be able to repeat their criminal acts while they are under state control?

a. Caveat actor

b. Reimbursement

c. Incapacitation

d. Just desert

Specific deterrence

Which of the following goals of punishment would suggest that if punishment is severe enough, it will convince the offender never to repeat their criminal activity?

Rehabilitation

Which of the following is a goal of punishment that suggests that sentences should be based on the need to treat and/or rehabilitate criminal offenders?

Equity/restitution

Which of the following is a goal of punishment that would require convicted criminals to pay back their victims for their loss, the justice system for the costs of processing their case, and society for any disruption they have caused?

Restoration

Which of the following goals of punishment asks that offenders confront their behavior, the damage they caused the victim, and the shame they brought to their family, friends, and community by recognizing the injury they caused?

b. Consecutive sentence

d. Concurrent sentence

In instances where an accused is convicted of two or more charges, the judge, when imposing the sentence, must decide between which of the following? Select all that apply.

a. Determinate sentencing

b. Consecutive sentence

c. Truth in sentencing

d. Concurrent sentence

e. Indeterminate sentencing

f. Good time sentencing

(a) Mandatory sentencing

(b) Indeterminate sentencing

(e) Determinate sentencing

Which of the following are sentencing models that have been used in the United States over the years? Select all that apply.

a. Mandatory sentencing

b. Indeterminate sentencing

c. Consecutive sentence

d. Concurrent sentence

e. Determinate sentencing

Indeterminate sentencing

Which of the following is still the most widely used type of sentence in the United States?

Three-strikes law

A law in which a person convicted of three offenses is sentenced to a lengthy prison term, even if the third crime is relatively trivial, is referred to as what?

Truth in sentencing

A sentencing scheme that requires offenders serve at least 85 percent of their original sentence before being eligible for parole or other forms of early release is referred to as what?

(a) Truth-in-sentencing laws

(e) Three-strikes laws

(f) Mandatory minimum sentencing

Which of the following are largely responsible for pushing prisons beyond their breaking points? Select all that apply.

a. Truth-in-sentencing laws

b. Court authority

c. Indeterminate sentencing

d. Prosecutorial authority

e. Three-strikes laws

f. Mandatory minimum sentencing

(a) Whether violence was involved

(b) The severity of the offense

(c) Whether the offender has a prior conviction

(d) Whether the offender used weapons

Which of the following factors influence judges when they decide on criminal sentences? Select all that apply.

a. Whether violence was involved

b. The severity of the offense

c. Whether the offender has a prior conviction

d. Whether the offender used weapons

e. Gender

(d) Victim impact statement

A postconviction statement by the victim of crime or the victim’s family that may be used to guide sentencing decisions is known as what?

a. Aggravating circumstances

b. Sentencing discrimination

c. Victim’s recommendation

d. Victim impact statement

(a) Colorado

(e) New Hampshire

The most recent states to abolish the death penalty (since 2019) as a form of punishment were which of the following? Select all that apply.

a. Colorado

b. Oregon

c. Arizona

d. Montana

e. New Hampshire

(a) Maine

(c) Iowa

(d) Hawaii

(f) New York

(g) Minnesota

Which of the following states currently cannot impose the death penalty? Select all that apply.

a. Maine

b. Tennessee

c. Iowa

d. Hawaii

e. Nevada

f. New York

g. Minnesota

(b) Pennsylvania

(c) Nebraska

(d) South Carolina

(e) Utah

(f) North Carolina

(g) Mississippi

Which of the following states currently can impose the death penalty? Select all that apply.

a. West Virginia

b. Pennsylvania

c. Nebraska

d. South Carolina

e. Utah

f. North Carolina

g. Mississippi

Deterrence

Which of the following main theories for the death penalty would be an argument for the death penalty that states that the potential for recidivism is a serious enough threat to require that murderers be denied further access to the public?

Possibility of error

Critics of the death penalty who argue against the death penalty, stating the belief that capital punishment has no place in a mature democratic society, and that the finality of the act and the real possibility that innocent persons can be executed are presenting which argument?

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions held that 18 years of age was the minimum age of defendants who could be sentenced to death?

Penitentiary

A state or federal correctional institution for incarceration of felony offenders for terms of 1 year or more.

Incapacitation

The policy of keeping dangerous criminals in confinement to eliminate the risk of their repeating their offense in society.

Just desert

The philosophy of justice asserting that those who violate the rights of others deserve to be punished. The severity of punishment should be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.

Equity

The action or practice of awarding each person his or her just due. Sanctions based on equity seek to compensate individual victims and the general society for their losses due to crime.

Concurrent sentences

Prison sentences for two or more criminal acts, served simultaneously and run together.

Consecutive sentence

Prison sentences for two or more criminal acts, served one after the other.

Indeterminate sentence

A term of incarceration with a stated minimum and maximum length, such as a sentence to prison for a period of from 3 to 10 years. The prisoner is eligible for parole after the minimum sentence has been served. Based on the belief that sentences should fit the criminal, indeterminate sentences allow individualized sentences and provide for sentencing flexibility. Judges can set a high minimum to override the purpose of the indeterminate sentence.

Determinate sentence

A fixed term of incarceration, such as 3 years’ imprisonment. Determinate sentences are felt by many to be too restrictive for rehabilitative purposes; the advantage is that offenders know how much time they have to serve—that is, when they will be released.

Sentencing guidelines

A set of standards that defines parameters for trial judges to follow in their sentencing decisions.

Mandatory sentence

A statutory requirement that a certain penalty shall be set and carried out in all cases upon conviction for a specified offense or series of offenses.

Chivalry hypothesis

The view that the low rates of crime and delinquency among females reflect the leniency with which female offenders are treated.

Victim impact statement

A postconviction statement by the victim of crime or the victim’s family that may be used to guide sentencing decisions.

Brutalization effect

The belief that capital punishment creates an atmosphere of brutality that enhances, rather than reduces, the level of violence in society. The death penalty reinforces the view that violence is an appropriate response to provocation.