Classifications of Crimes and Consequences
The American Criminal Justice System have various ways to classify and punish individuals who violate the laws. Depending on the crime committed, someone could spend anywhere from a small amount of time to a great deal of time away from society. The punishment is based on where the wrongdoing committed is classified as a crime of moral turpitude, a misdemeanor or felony and if the violation of the law is considered a violent or non-parole offense.
As explained in Chapter 2, moral turpitude is explained as behavior that is defined as being morally bad or looked down upon by the community, also known as mala in se which means crimes that are bad in themselves. (Chamelin & Thomas, 2012). For example, some crimes that would be considered morally wrong would be rape, prostitution, or kidnapping.
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The general classification of misdemeanors are crimes that are punishable by jail holding a sentence of less than a year, while felonies on the other hand are crimes that hold a prison sentence for more than a year (Chamelin & Thomas, 2012). However, each state has its own classification of felonies and misdemeanors. According to the South Carolina Criminal Law and Motor Vehicle Handbook, a misdemeanor is a charge given to someone who partakes in class A, B, or C of Section §16-1-10 (B); a felony charge is given to someone who participates in class A, B, C, D, E, or F of Section §16-1-10(A) (Beder & Company, Inc,
Criminal Law was essentially set up by the legislative and Congress, and includes the sentences by which individuals who violate the laws will be punished. A case will begin when an offense has occurred. Law enforcement will begin their process of investigation and gather evidence against the person who had committed the offense. Offenses are categorized as a summary of crimes, misdemeanors, and felonies. There are five categories of the violations of criminal law that can be categorized as either: felonies, misdemeanors, offenses, treason and espionage, and inchoate offenses (Schmalleger, 2015).
A felony is a crime punishable by at least a year’s imprisonment. A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by a fine or less than a year’s imprisonment.
Every state has criminal codes that have similar classifications as does federal criminal code. There are less serious or misdemeanor offenses and serious offenses known as felonies. The classification may be a letter system or a number system. A level 3 felony or class C felony will be the third most serious found in most states. Class C felony fines will vary depending on how states classify felony crimes.
A felony is a violent crime, it is considered to be more serious than a misdemeanor. When committing a felony it would be punishable to more than a year in prison. Felonies tend to be crimes such as assault, theft, and indecent exposure, depending on how many times committed.
Most time people don’t think about what crimes they are committing like motor vehicle theft, larceny and theft and robbery. Each of the crimes is serious, but some people don’t understand the consequence of what they could be up against. Automobile theft is a felony which you could face up to one or more years in prison. Robbery is a crime that happens every day and usually deals with someone intentionally taking something from a store or a person.
There are many different philosophies that are in use in the court systems when determining what sort of punishment will be imposed on someone who is found guilty of committing a crime. These philosophies are in use in both the adult courts and juvenile courts. The juvenile court system is similar to the adult courts, but there are many differences between the two. Both court systems try and keep crime from happening and both courts sentence those found guilty to some sort of punishment through the punishment philosophy that the court determines is a suitable approach for preventing future crime.
This first week the assignment was to Define crime, its relationship to the law, and the two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal, Describe the government structure as it applies to the criminal justice system, Identify choice theories and the their assumptions in regards to crime, Describe the components of the criminal justice system and the criminal justice process, Identify the goals of the criminal justice system.
A felony can be defined as a crime, typically one involving violence, regarded as more serious than a misdemeanor, and usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death. Types of felonies include assaults that cause serious bodily injury; murder, rape, sexual abuse in the
Misdemeanor or Felony: Misdemeanor crimes are crimes punishable up to a year with a lot of flexibility on what charges and time to serve for such crimes from the prosecutor. While felonies
Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories base on their prevalence. For every crime, the offense and charge is different. In addition, not every
One of my favorite shows on T.V is “Criminal Minds,” show stories of the existence of the FBI’S Behavioral Analysis Units and how expert profilers work with the FBI to search and capture rapists, serial killers that terrorize society. However, after watching a number of episodes, one can’t help but question or wonders if what they watching are real. In the real world, every day in the United State law enforcement officers is called to respond to horrify murder scenes. What is the mission of the Behavior Analysis Units? “The mission of the Behavioral Analysis Units (BAU) is to provide operational support for difficult and time-sensitive cases and other matters through the application of investigative case experience, education, specialized
Crime is defined as any behavior that is punishable by a fine, a prison or jail sentence or in some cases both. There are two types of crime. The first type is a felony; the standard definition of a felony is any crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison or by death. The most common felonies are murder, robbery, treason, rape and kidnapping. The second type of crime is known as a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is usually a less serious crime and is generally punishable by a fine and/ or incarceration in a county jail for up to one year. The most common misdemeanor crimes
The film describes a crime as being a violation of public laws which are the laws imprinted in the constitution and the law book of our society. According to the text Criminal Justice in Action, a crime can be defined as an action or activity that is considered an offense against society that is punishable by criminal law and sanctions based on laws. In the film, there are two different classification of crimes: a misdemeanor and a felony. Misdemeanors are petty crimes that can give you a punishment of less to a
As the nineties began, the general theory of crime became the most prominent criminological theory ever proposed; furthermore, it is empirically recognized as the primary determinant in deviant and criminal behaviors. Known also as the self-control theory, the general theory of crime can most simply be defined as the absence or lack of self-control that an individual possesses, which in turn may lead them to commit unusual and or unlawful deeds. Authored by educator Michael R. Gottfredson and sociologist Travis Hirschi, A General Theory of Crime (1990) essentially “dumbed down” every theory of crime into two words, self-control. The widely accepted book holds that low self-control is the main reason that a person initiates all crimes, ranging from murder and rape to burglary and embezzlement. Gottfredson and Hirschi also highlighted, in A General Theory of Crime (1990), that low self-control correlates with personal impulsivity. This impulsive attitude leads individuals to become insensitive to deviant behaviors such as smoking, drinking, illicit sex, and gambling (p. 90). The extreme simplicity, yet accuracy, of Gottfredson’s and Hirschi’s general theory of crime (self-control theory), make it the most empirically supported theory of criminal conduct, as well as deviant acts.
Crimes are frequently classified according to their seriousness as felonies or misdemeanors. Generally, felonies are more serious than misdemeanors. Under the federal criminal law system, felonies are crimes for which the punishment is death or imprisonment for more than a year. A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine or by imprisonment for less than a year. In most states persons convicted of felonies are sent to state prisons, while those guilty of misdemeanors serve their sentence in city, or county jails, or correction houses.