The Sentencing Study

1. The United States currently incarcerates 1 in nearly 100 American adults 2. Increases in the number of prisoners are likely to reduce crime, rising crime rates also translate into larger

No matter how you look at it, the prison system within the US holds too many people without valid reason. The last decade has seen a lot of states cut down on crime while also cutting down on their prison populations. In the years between 1999 and 2012, for example, both New York and New Jersey cut their prison populations by 30%, and crime rates fell “faster than they did nationally.”

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

In any given year now, incarceration rates has tripled with approximately 13 million people introduced to American jails in any given year. This increase in the prison population far outpaced the crime rate and the US population growth. Today, America has around 5% of the world’s population but a quarter of the world’s prison population.

Abstract This essay explains sentencing in the United States Criminal Justice system. The objectives of punishment in the United States corrections is to help deter crime and to ensure reoffenders don’t reoffend. Sentencing impacts the corrections system and society in a positive manor by eliminating offenders out of the community. Sentencing may include one of the following: probation, fines, prison, community service, probation and so forth depending on the state you reside and the type of offense you commit. Each crime committed doesn’t have a set sentence, therefore they are determined on a case to case basis. The main goal of the criminal justice system is to defend the community and serve justice. Sentencing plays a vital role in the Criminal Justice system.

Social scientists and organizational psychologist have given additional acknowledgment to the influence of social and cultural issues in organizational system (Carter, 2000, p. 2). This clearly indicates that how these issues affect many fields of society and how important is their resolution. Many key global events of the last decade

Similar to the Sentencing Reform Act, the purpose of the United States Sentencing Commission is to prevent inequity of sentencing among federal judges. It’s role is to serve as a strict guideline for Judges to adhere and limits the discretion at which a Judge may alter the length of sentence. The goal of this commission is to hamper factors such as race, sex, socioeconomic status, etc to affect the length of sentence, and aims for the guideline to stand on a neutral ground.

Our criminal justice system has more than 2.3 million people behind bars. Nearly 160,000 prisoners are serving life sentences. There are 1719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, and 901 juvenile facilities. 993 youth ages 17 and younger were in adult prison’s in 2015. Along with mass incarceration, there are also 840,000 people on parole and 3.7 million on probation. Criminalizing citizens who do not pose a threat to public safety (REF).

Public opinion surveys show that more and more people believe that crime is increasing. People feel less safe in their environment and have thus started to take measures to protect themselves. Matt Taibbi states, “In 1991 there were about one million Americans behind bars. By 2012, the number was over 2.2 million, a more than 100% increase.” But is this view accurate? Statistics show that the population two decades ago America’s population was approximately 266 million compared to today's population which stands at approximately 322 million. Since the population of America 20 years ago was less than it is today, you can’t possibly compare today’s the crime rates and prison population to rates that were calculated years back. It’ll obviously seem

Are Americans receiving justice in the law system? Statistics indicate otherwise, a quarter of the population is locked up in the land of the free. The crack epidemic has been monumental in contributing to the mass incarceration rates, especially towards minority males. A crack cocaine offense bears a more severe offense penalty than powder cocaine, for example, if an individual has five grams of crack, they would do the same five years as someone caught with five hundred grams of powder cocaine. Non-violent drug offenses should be prosecuted but the minimum sentencing legislature ought to be eliminated.

On July 9, 2007, JR is found guilty of 3 counts of first-degree murders and on November 8th, 2007 is given the maximum sentence of 10 years (Remington & Zickefoose, 2010). This would entail six years in prison with an additional four years of custodial supervision within a psychiatric institution (Remington & Zickefoose, 2010). JR was also put into the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision program (Remington & Zickefoose, 2010). On December 15, 2008 Jeremy Steinke was found guilty of three cases of first-degree murder, and was given three consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole for 25 years (Remington & Zickefoose, 2010).There has been a substantial amount of controversy surrounding the sentencing of JR and Jeremy

BATH, N.Y. (WENY) -- After more than an hour of impact statements, Thomas Clayton learned his fate. Clayton will spend the rest of his life in prison for hiring Michael Beard to kill his wife Kelley back in 2015. Sentencing began Monday afternoon with

Circles were found by the Native American cultures of the United States and Canada. These circles are used for many purposes. In the 1980s, the criminal justice system adapted and developed as the people of a first nation. Local justice officials had attempted to start building closer ties with the

Between 19 77 and 2004, New Jersey’s female prison population grew by 717% with an average annual percent change of 8.8% per year. Throughout the period from 1977 to 2004, New Jersey’s female imprisonment rate was 33 female prisoners per 100,000 female residents. In 1977 there were 180 total female sentenced prisoners in New Jersey. In 2004 there were 1,470 total female sentenced prisoners in New Jersey.

The USA has, currently, over 2.3 million people incarcerated in various kinds of prisons. We have the highest imprisonment population ratio in the world with 716 of 100,000 people in prison. This is hugely expensive too, considering just a level two prisoner costs an average $52.98. Prison overcrowding is growing at an alarming rate as well: it has become five times as large as it was 40 years ago. This issue is only going to get worse with time. A survey of 34 states reported an overall growth of 3%. While that may not seem like a lot, consider that the growth was concentrated in only a few of those surveyed. While some states may not feel the effects yet, it is only a matter of