sentencing
is the stage at which a punishment or penalty is formally imposed on the defendant
judge
imposes the sentencing decision at the sentencing hearing
retribution
Future crime is prevented by removing a victim's (or the public's) desire for avengement against the defendant
rehabilitation
Future crime is prevented by altering a defendant's behavior through educational/vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling
incapacitation
Future crime is prevented by physically removing a criminally-inclined individual from the population
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)
mandatory minimum
For certain offenses (e.g., crack cocaine possession), a judge can sentence above a statutory minimum, but s/he cannot sentence below it
three strikes law
Require that any offender convicted of a third felony must be sentenced to a lengthy term in state prison (i.e., habitual offender laws)
truth in sentencing
For certain crimes, offenders are required to serve at least 85% of their sentences before being eligible for release
To make sentencing more consistent (and maybe more punitive)
To eliminate "extralegal" disparities in sentencing
The goals of presumptive sentencing guidelines:
(2)
presumptive sentencing guidelines
These guidelines are set by sentencing commissions made up of CJS officials, legislators, and citizens
______________ provide recommended sentences based on the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal record of the defendant
For each defendan
conditional
a ________ effect is one in which the effect of one variable on another variable varies by some third variable
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
decision was a landmark case in the history of capital punishment
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
____________ decision, the Court held that guided discretion statutes WERE constitutional, and executions in the U.S. resumed in 1977
aggravating
________ factors increase the blameworthiness of the criminal act (e.g., having a prior criminal history)
mitigating
________ factors reduce the blameworthiness of (but do not excuse) the criminal act (e.g., being under a certain age)
Bifurcated trials:
a two-stage trial with a guilt phase and a sentencing phase
Proportionality review:
a process whereby state appellate courts compare the sentence in a case with sentences from other similar cases
Collateral review:
defendants may challenge their convictions and/or sentences in the state and federal systems
Conviction reversals
Arbitrary application
Cost
General deterrence
Class/gender/race implications
problems with capital punishment (5)
are retribution, incapacitation, and the management of risk
new goals of punishment (3)
psychological and sociological
The criminological theories dominants in the 1960s and 1970s were primarily __________ and ___________
control
The 1980s and beyond saw a resurgence in ________ theories
collateral consequences
These unintended negative consequences of incarceration are called
recidivism
reoffending following punishment
1) Reducing perceived risk
2) Strengthening criminal attitudes/skills
3) Defiant reactions
4) Limited labor market prospects
5) Weakened family/civic life
How might punishment increase crime rather than reduce it? (5)
gamblers fallacy
According to this hypothesis, offenders conclude that their punishment experience was only the result of "bad luck
selection
employment consequences of incarceration: Those who go to prison would not find work even in the absence of a criminal record
transformation
employment consequences of incarceration: Prison changes inmates/makes them unemployable
reverse credentialing
employment consequences of incarceration: The stigma/label of prison is most important
Jacob Wetterling Act
act that mandates that each state create a central registry of offenders convicted of sexual offenses (and other crimes against children)
Megan's Law
- act created because the sex offender residence information collected by law enforcement should be made available to the public
- established this system of "community notification
Jessica's Law (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
instrumental purposes
purpose: 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)
symbolic purposes
purpose: 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
the "age of exclusion" and eligible offense types
Two important mechanisms that expanded the breadth of transfer:
1) frequency, 2) breadth, and 3) the decision-maker
Transfer of juveniles to adult court expanded with regard to
judicial waiver
When the judge makes the decision, it is called
prosecutorial direct file
prosecutors are given the authority to file cases directly into juvenile or criminal court
statutory exclusion
state legislatures can transform the law to completely exclude certain offense types (e.g., serious violent offenses) from juvenile court jurisdiction
once an adult, always an adult
________ statutes, which mandate transfer if a youth has been transferred for a previous offense
presumptive waiver laws
________ laws mean that 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
Roper v. Simmons decision
The death penalty for juveniles was abolished in the
Graham v. Florida decision
Life without the possibility of parole was abolished for juveniles not convicted of homicide in the
legal bystanders
Those negatively affected by the crimes of a friend or loved one are known as
1) Victim injury during a violent crime
2) Macro-level correlations between gun ownership and violence
two primary problems with the research on guns and violence (both relate to correlation vs. causation)
low likelihood of arrest, diversion, some forms of treatment, lenient sentencing
In the past, the CJS did not consistently punish sex offenders - Common sanctions:
Prison sentences, civil commitment, and broad residence restrictions have become common
The past three decades have seen the enactment of many laws designed to protect the public from sex offenders (punishments - 3)
one-size-fits-all
A series of federal laws have been passed which are designed to streamline state-level policies. These policies take a _____________ approach to sex offenders
1) Very few sexual offenders commit homicides
2) The crime received unprecedented media attention
Megan Kanka's case was atypical for two reasons:
Ordinances that forbid residence within a certain distance (e.g., 1,000 feet) from a school/playground/park/day care center
GPS monitoring
Special identifiers on drivers' licenses (including in Florida)
Internet identifiers provided to law enforcement
Depending on jurisdiction, sex offenders can be subject to...
(4)
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
effects of sex offender policies related to sex offenders:
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 behavi
Effects of sex offender policies related to the community:
(3)
indeterminate
Before the 1970s, the sentencing model in state and federal systems was __________
mandatory minimums
truth in sentencing
three strikes law
There are several types of "determinate" sentencing policies, including:
(3)
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, the guidelines are neve
Problems with sentencing guidelines: (3)
1) The punishment is perceived by the offender as unfair
2) The offender has weak social bonds to the conventional world
3) The punishment is perceived as stigmatizing
4) The offender takes pride in his actions and his isolation from the community
Sherman (1993) theorizes that, under the following conditions, offenders may react to punishment with defiance
(4)
1) It erodes the (already shaky) job skills of those incarcerated
2) It artificially lowers the unemployment rate for political gain
Incarceration can produce inequality in the labor market through several mechanisms:
(2)
coercive mobility
Incarceration destabilizes neighborhoods by creating a system of __________ ___________ among residents
parens patriae
The progressives invoked the principle of _________ ___________ as an ideological guide (i.e., the state has the obligation to act as "parent")
Justice is individualized and oriented toward rehabilitation, not standardized and oriented toward punishment
Youth are not stigmatized by the process or the punishments
The juvenile court WAS designed to be a system in which...
(2)
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 sen
Compared to adult criminal courts, early juvenile courts...(3)
Sight and sound
________ _____ ________ protections from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act do not apply to transferred juveniles
lowest
the pattern of gun ownership is generally highest in groups where violence is ___________
recreational reasons
*half own for self protection
Most owners of guns own them for
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
The Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) that...
57
The United States is one of only ______ countries in the world to retain the death penalty
35; 18
_____ jurisdictions in the U.S. have capital punishment statutes, and _______ do not
one
Only _____% of all death-eligible offenders have been executed under super due process
30 percent; this is because of the prosecutor, not jury
15 counties (9 of which are in Texas) account for ______% of all executions since 1976
400 percent
Between 1980 and 2008, the number of people under some form of correctional supervision rose _____ percent