Sentencing for Murder by Mitchell and Roberts - Article Example

Article Review The article d Sentencing for Murder written by Barry Mitchell and Julian V. Roberts explores the subject of life imprisonment as an acceptable replacement for death sentence in murder cases. The main purpose of research was to study the public opinion regarding the assumption that life imprisonment is an acceptable replacement for death sentence. At the same time the research set out to examine the public knowledge regarding this assumption which holds that life imprisonment as the next best and acceptable alternative to death sentence. The research particularly focuses on the punishment for murder cases as they generally do not have any discretion apart from the imposition of a death sentence (Mitchell and Roberts, 141). In recent years debates over sentencing provisions have extended to more serious cases such as murder and homicide. The issue which has attracted concerns relates to reformation in the law pertaining to the definition and description of murder punishments. In England and Wales before 1957, the common trend criminals convicted of crimes such as murder were sentenced to death. Through a series of Acts on murder and the classifications of murder, death penalty was replaced by life imprisonment in nearly every conviction for murder crimes. At this point, public opinion regarding the matter holds immense importance in providing justification for the new system. A hypothesis that relates to the public opinion regarding the death penalty replacement states that any alternative punishment less than life imprisonment will result in loss of public confidence on the legal system. This is due to the perceived leniency that is assumed with a life sentence. However, no research has been carried out to test the assumption that punishments less than life imprisonment will result in loss of public confidence (Mitchell and Roberts, 142). As a result the matter remains as an unexplored and unattested claim that has not been tested. The authors have therefore attempted to carry out a research testing the hypothesis which states that the public opinion is less likely to have confidence on murder sentencing is the punishment is reduced lower than life imprisonment. The author’s goal is to determine the actual public opinion and knowledge regarding the subject (Mitchell and Roberts, 142). The research offers a wide range of public opinions on the matter and will allow for rectification in case of any misassumption. The design incorporates a representative sample of individuals from England and Wales who represent the public. An empirical test is carried out that follows the steps involved when conducting a scientific research. The research methodology comprises of a description of the issue, a literature review of previously published data, and a poll to analyze public opinion on the matter, and their own quantitative study using interviews as the data collection method. Firstly, the authors provide a background to the extent of the issue where they explain the meaning of a mandatory sentence which treats all crimes as equal thereby implementing similar punishments for the entire spectrum of crimes. However, a shortfall of this notion is that crimes may differ in their intensity and hence, so must the punishments to allow room for leniency. This problem induces unnecessary labeling without considering the varied circumstances as identified by the authors (Mitchell and Roberts, 143). The authors of the research have also examined the available literature on the subject of sentencing for murder cases. The article includes a thorough review of the previously published literature on the topic to associate the new developments with the previous system. Various relevant sources have been cited including Law Commission and research articles to explain public attitude regarding murder sentences. However, research on this domain is not extensive and mainly consists of qualitative studies involving a sample size of 60 respondents each (Mitchell and Roberts, 143). These researches have not focused on alternative punishments to life imprisonment and present a very limited scope of the issue. Hence, a large part of the research embarked upon by the authors aims at gaining greater information regarding the public opinion and attitude towards sentencing for murder cases. Information from some existing literature, according to the authors, suggest the erroneous nature of the belief that the public supports notions of mandatory life (Mitchell and Roberts, 143). On the other hand, the public may support more flexibility in sentencing especially for different murder cases. The researchers have cited poll trends regarding public attitude and opinion has been in order to express the situation at hand. The poll results show support for mandatory sentencing although the authors argue that this could be insufficient (Mitchell and Roberts, 144). Many of the public individuals have supported death penalty according to previous research. There was a need to confirm these trends through a recent study addressing the question which is why the researchers chose to interview respondents. Mitchell and Roberts have used interviewing and focus groups as the research instruments (145). The chosen methodology is essentially quantitative which involved face to face interviews. The respondents were based in England and Wales because of the focus of the research on public from the said locations. Another research instrument used involved focus group conducted in different parts of England. The instruments including the focus group and interviews have helped the researchers to achieve their research objectives. The research design can therefore be considered to be effective as it relevantly addressed the research question thereby fulfilling the objectives. The research result showed the importance of public knowledge regarding sentencing because it highly correlated to public opinion. The research found out that the relationship between the two variables – crime rate and sentence severity – was perceived to be positive. The questions chosen by the authors were specific and addressed the issues they had aimed at resolving. The study revealed useful information regarding public perceptions regarding murder sentencing. Also, public opinion was greatly affected by public knowledge regarding the issue. However, the research successfully allowed quantitative analysis of the public opinion and the study allowed insightful examination of the issue with respect to public attitude. Reflection This exercise was a constructive learning experience which helped to train my analysis skills. The whole process of writing the review from pre-writing till the final creation of the book report was very enriching and expanded my knowledge. The task was especially important because it allowed me to understand the issue from the author’s perspective thereby allowing me to critically analyze and assess the research article produced by the researchers. Reading the article also provided much information regarding the criminology and the field. Furthermore, the task was useful in enlightening me regarding the current trends in criminology as it relates to murder cases and the punishments that are associated with it. The task was also important in making me understand the presence of different point of views. It enabled me to examine a situation from different perspectives thereby providing me a full view of the situation. The entire process was insightful and provided me with a constructive way of looking at problems and how they are addressed through research. The research methodology and design use by the authors also gave me the insights regarding choice of a methodology, sample, instrument, and so on. At the same time, this also allowed me to see how research questions address their objectives. The article addressed a key issue in criminology that had been left untested. The research therefore proved to be a seminal work in analyzing public opinion and attitudes regarding death sentence and life imprisonment for murder criminals. Works Cited Mitchell, B., and J. V. Roberts. Sentencing For Murder: Exploring Public Knowledge And Public Opinion In England And Wales. British Journal of Criminology 52.1 (2011): 141-158. Web. Read More