CRIM 100 - CHAP 11: Sentencing

SENTENCING

capital punishment

• a sentence of death/execution

• no scientific consensus on its deterrent effect

What is the most humane for of capitol punishment?

lethal injection

deterrence

• the effects of punishments and other actions to deter people from committing crimes

• general deterrence: the public

• specific deterrence: specific person

• CESARE BECCARIA: people chose to commit crime, so we can use system to reduce it (people must KNOW crime is illegal)

exoneration

to absolve someone of criminal blame or find someone not guilty

• a trend in exoneration in capitol punishment has been seen 

incapacitation

• rendering someone as unable to act or move about, either through incarceration or by court order

• prevents victimization by placing offenders in situations where they can’t commit a crime

• jail, parole, prison, probation

punishment

penalties imposed for committing criminal acts, to accomplish retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and/or rehabilitation

rehabilitation

• attempts to reform an offender through vocational and educational programming so that they are not a recidivist

• corrections’ primary goal in the 20th century 

retribution

• punishment that fits the crime

• goal that likely emerged 1st

• LEX TALIONIS

sentencing guidelines

guidelines developed by the federal govt to make more consistent sentences

victim impact statements

statements provided prior to/during sentencing by the victim of the crime or their family

• info on crimes financial, emotional, psychological, and physical impact on the victim’s or family’s life

What are the 4 goals of punishment

1 retribution (“deserved”)

2 deterrence (“fear/pain”)

3 incapacitation (“opportunity”)

4 rehabilitation (“fix”)

Penitentiary punishment model

• 1790s-1870s

• main idea is to isolate people who commit crimes in order to rehabilitate them

Reformatory punishment model

• 1870-1890

• more humanitarian approach after penitentiary model

• focused on rewarding people for good behavior

• vocational training & specialized institutes introduced

medical punishment model

• 1930-1960

• criminals were seen as mentally ill → focus on treatment

crime control punishment model

• 1970-2000

• punish people who repeatedly offend 

• three strikes law, determinate sentencing & more → intended to crack down in high crime rates 

indeterminate sentence

• a TBD incarceration sentence that is a range of time

• aligned with the REHABILITATION goal

• PAROLE

determinate sentence

• a fixed incarceration sentence 

• aligned with the INCAPACITATION goal

• NO parole

concurrent sentence

• serve all sentences at the same time 

• 15 yr + 3 yr + 5 yr → only serve 15 years

consecutive sentence

• serve all sentences separately 

• 15 yr + 3 yr + 5 yr → serve 23 years

Federal sentencing guidelines

• replace indeterminate sentences with determinate sentences

• Sentencing Reform Act did the latter, also created the US Sentencing Commission, which establishes sentencing guidelines for federal courts

• USSC cases broadened judges freedom in sentecning (even though the act sought to limit them)

State sentencing guidelines

• sentence grids: takes offender score & seriousness of crime into consideration

writ of habeas corpus

when an incarcerated person contests the legality of their confinement 

3 factors of sentencing

1 disposition → the “what” or sanction: fine, incarceration, LWOP (SENTENCING CONTINUUM)

2 duration → the “time”: indeterminate vs determinate

3 justification → the “why”

Pre-sentence investigation report (PSI)

investigation done before sentencing that looks into the criminal’s record, the facts of the crime, and extenuating circumstances — the judge will take this into consideration when sentencing 

Kohberger sentence

Count 1 (burglary): 10 years + $50,000 fine

Count 2, 3, 4, 5 (1st degree): LWOP + $50,000 fine + $5,000 restitution

GIVEN THE MAX!

#’s for incarceration

• $40k per year is spent to house a a male 

• 1.9 million/2 million are currently in prison in the US

• US is 25% of all incarcerations in the world

• 90% of inmates are male, 8-10% are female

• US is #1 incarcerator in the world