Arguments Against Offender Restrictions

In the United States there are four main goals when it comes to punishment which are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation (DeJong, 2016, p. 288). The main goals for these punishments are to maintain order over society and to prevent recidivism (DeJong, 2016, p. 288). This ties into the Ecology perspective. By maintaining order over society and preventing recidivism, it ties into all of the issues regarding the Ecology perspective which requires for each issue to address the individual, family, community and society. Maintaining order over society and preventing recidivism strives toward making a safer environment for the individual, family, community and society. There is no universal agreement for making the severity of punishment just or fair (DeJong, 2016, p. 288). When it comes to retribution the person who is getting punished deserves the punishment (DeJong, 2016, p. 289). Retribution refers to when an individual commits a certain crime then that person must receive a punishment proportionate to that crime or suffering that they may have caused towards the victim (DeJong, 2016, p. 289). Regarding deterrence there are two types, general deterrence and specific deterrence (DeJong, 2016, p. 289). General deterrence focuses on the society in general and wants to scare everyone away from committing crimes (DeJong, 2016, p. 289). Specific deterrence focuses on criminals that have already been convicted and wants to prevent them from

“Finally!” Today I went to a school assembly about bullying. The principal said, “If anyone is caught bullying in school, you will be suspended for a week.” I told the principal that we need to make harsher punishments if anyone is bullying. Here are the reasons why there should be harsher punishments for bullying.

In the 1990s, states began to execute mandatory sentencing laws for repeat offenders. This statute became known as “three strike laws”. The three strikes law increases prison sentence for people convicted of a felony. If you have two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, it limits the ability that offenders have to receive a punishment other than life sentencing. By 2003 over half of the states and federal government had enacted the “three strike laws”. The expectation behind it was to get career criminals off the street for the good of the public. However, the laws have their connoisseurs who charge sentences that are often excessive to the crimes committed and that incarcerate of three strike inmates for 25 years to life. Nevertheless, the US Supreme Court has upheld three strike laws and had rejected the fact that they amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

cocaine offenses under the 100-to-1, crack to cocaine trigger were African American (Written 4). In 2010 Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) that reduced the crack to cocaine disparity from 100-to-1 to 18 grams of crack to 1 gram of cocaine triggering the mandatory minimum but they did not change mandatory minimum sentencing (Written 4). Blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates however blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, in some counties blacks are 10, 15 or even 30 more times more likely to be arrested (Written 6).

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported 6.7 million people were supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at year end 2015. President Obama has conveyed tax payer pay $80 billion dollars to house incarcerate individuals yearly. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 limited federal judge sentencing discretions. In 1980 the USA had 500k people incarcerated, the population of prisoners has more than doubled the last two decades. The United States Mandatory sentencing requires offenders receive a predetermined minimum sentencing for some offenses. Since the implementation of mandatory sentencing, prison populations have risen sharply with sky rocking costs. On certain offenses, Federal judges no longer have discretion on the sentence length. Mandatory sentencing laws have shifted the power of punishment to the prosecutor as they have the discretion of charges brought against offenders. According to Peter Wagner and Bernadette Rabuy in their article “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017,” the United State criminal justice leads the world in the percentage of its citizens incarcerated. Mandatory minimum sentencing has led to large prison populations, skyrocketing costs and social family challenges.

Giving second chances or third chances are often difficult tasks when dealing with personal issues and relationships, but when crime is involved, the flood gates open wide with varying opinions. Questions of all degrees become intertwined with the basis of the crime, the type of victimization that took place, and how ‘morally wrong’ we as citizens view this criminal act. Oftentimes citizens, prosecutors, and even judges focus on what type of crime has been committed, but overlook the person behind that action. A human, whom based on their circumstances, needs additional support in one way or another in their life.

Mandatory minimum sentencing is the lowest amount a judge can impose for sentencing the defendant to which has been predetermined for specific types of crime. This was a decision made by congress in 1984 which removes the courts discretion during the sentencing of a guilty defendant. The purpose of which was to have uniform sentencing for similar crimes as well as a deterrent to reduce criminal behavior (Bernick & Larkin, 2014).

Under the Wyoming state statute 6-3-314 (Sexual assault in the first degree,) the maximum punishment is up to 50 years and a statutory felony. I see why the juvenile courts do not agree with these punishments for a minor. That is a lot of time for someone that has not yet reached the legal age of adulthood. One should not spend the best years of their lives behind bars. The problem is, teens pull the short straw when these offenses are committed. Our founding fathers said it best “All men are created equal.” So why do we protect these juveniles that have committed such a serious crime. They will get the minimum punishment or placed on juvenile probation for an offense like this. While an adult will most likely have the maximum punish for the same crime.

Every offender perpetrates offenses based on their own purposes. Everyone has a reason on why they do the things they do. However, some individuals are worse than others, which is why they can’t all receive the same depth of punishment. There seems to be a lack of knowledge about offenders, which makes it very complicated for the criminal justice system to categorize them. In regards of the criminal justice system, the system cannot respond to all crimes with a one size fits all approach.

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

Although inmates may not have full Constitutional rights while incarcerated, they are entitled to basic human rights, freedom and dignity. U.S. penal systems have been reformed at the beginning of the 1960’s. The reason for this reformation is to prevent inhumane treatment, provide inmates with religious freedom, and due process (Smith, 2010). The U.S. Supreme Court

One of the first well known 'Three Strikes and You’re Out' law to be passed in America was passed in California in 1994 (Chen, 2008). The intention was to give longer sentences for repeat offenders. The reasoning behind the law was simple. The harsh punishment will act as a deterrent for future criminals and those criminals that have multiple offences will be put away for many years rendering them unable to commit further crimes against our society (Chen, 2008). There are currently 28 states that have some sort of habitual offender law in place but California is the most severe in enforcing those laws (Shoener, 1993). Colorado is also one of the states that have a habitual offender law. The law in Colorado divides up the offences that can count

I do believe an offender can become a victim. It can happen instantaneously in which the roles can be turns. Put in simple terms if a man beats his wife and continues to do it over and over, one day she’ll eventually get tired of the situation and retaliate. Women who have been battered or beaten over the years suffer from what has been identified as battered women’s syndrome. Women who retaliate and attacks back then becomes the offenders and the males becomes the victims. It may not happen in the same instance he’s beating his wife, she may plan it when he’s not aware and become a victim to the crime she planned.

Does the punishment fit the crime? The Death penalty is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. According Kyle Gibson of “Mic Policy” “The U.S. judicial system has been reluctant to exercise one of its most just institutions against these criminals. The death penalty, or put more eloquently capital punishment, has come under attack in recent years not just by U.S. legislators but also by the international community. The U.S. and Japan remain the last two of the most industrialized and free societies to support capital punishment. As the leader of the free world, the U.S. must retain and exercise its right to the death penalty.” There are five forms of the death penalty: lethal injection, Electrocution, Gas Chamber, firing squad, and hanging. Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing immediate death. Electrocution is the death by electric shock. Gas Chamber is an apparatus for killing humans with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is

There is a worldwide trend for use of penal imprisonment for serious offenders even though capital punishment has been renounced by more states. Harsh punishments can range from the morally questionable capital punishment to life imprisonment or to mere imprisonment. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals. Opposition towards harsh punishments has argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness as they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease reoffending rates and do not provide rehabilitation.