US criminal justice - Essay Example

?[Your full full April 09, US Criminal Justice Answer: No Before going into the discussion regarding affect of one’s opinion about the purpose of sentencing on selecting the most appropriate type of punishment, let us get a better understanding of what sentencing actually is. Sentencing is a stage in criminal justice system in which a judge decides a punishment for a criminal. The purpose of sentencing plays a very critical role in deciding the most suitable type of punishment because it makes a judge decide whether to satisfy the victim or to punish the offender according to the law. The judges, however, can make the decision on their own in a very few situations because they have to look at the punishment which is set in the law for any specific crime. The way the juries make a decision against criminals has been continuously changing with time (Renter). For some crimes, there are laws, which apply fines and banishment for the criminals whereas for some crimes, there are very harsh punishments set for the criminals. “Today there are many things the criminal justice system aims to do by imposing punishments and sentences” (Renter). One’s belief in the purpose of sentencing plays a crucial role in reducing the crime rate from a country. In the US criminal justice system, the aim of the judges is to reduce the crime by sentencing the criminals on merit. The goal should be to make the criminals refrain from crimes by giving law-based punishments to the criminals. Some judges believe that sentencing should be a way to stop the criminals from committing crimes by giving harsh punishments to the criminals whereas others believe that sentencing should also involve will of the victims in order to satisfy the victims properly. Therefore, one’s belief about the purpose of sentencing plays a critical role in deciding appropriate punishments for the criminals. Answer: No: 2 Some of the most famous sentencing models in the United States include indeterminate sentencing, determinate sentencing, and mandatory sentencing. Indeterminate Sentencing In indeterminate sentencing, the judges state a minimum and maximum length of imprisonment for the criminals depending on the nature of the crime committed by them. It is the most widely used sentencing model in the United States of America (Siegal 498). The minimum time of imprisonment is must for all criminals whereas the maximum time depends on some specific circumstances. The model gives power to the judges to decide the number of years for the imprisonment of the criminal by providing the judges with both limits for the years of imprisonment. Indeterminate sentencing provides range and flexibility to the judges by giving them the power to decide the appropriate duration for imprisonment of the criminals. Determinate Sentencing Determinate sentences are fixed terms of incarceration in which the offender has to spend a specific number of years in the prison. In determinate sentencing, there is a set of guidelines for the judges that define the parameters to be followed while deciding the sentences. For rehabilitation purposes, determinate sentencing model is too restrictive as compared to indeterminate sentencing. A good thing about the determinate sentencing model is that the offender keeps in mind the punishment for any specific crime and hesitates to commit the crime and go back to jail for anther term of imprisonment. Mandatory Sentencing Another type of sentencing model is mandatory sentencing in which a judge has to give a mandatory punishment to the criminal because in this model of sentencing, a judge has little or no control over the punishment set for any specific crime. Mandatory sentencing restricts sentencing disparity and limits individualized sentencing by limiting the discretionary power of the judges to impose any kind of disposition. Mandatory sentencing has helped the government of the United States reduce the overall number of crimes by incarcerating the offenders who might have received probations in the past for the same crimes. Answer: No: 3 Death penalty is a type of sentence in which an offender is sentenced to death because of committing a violent crime. There are different arguments related to death penalty. Some of those arguments are in favor whereas a large number of arguments go against the death penalty. Let us discuss those factors, which have reduced public support for the death penalty. Unproven Facts Some people believe that death penalty takes the lives of innocent people who do not commit any sort of crime but they are trapped into such activities due to their innocence. People say that a death penalty is an end to a precious life of a person who might have got many important works to do in life. Financial Problems Another argument against death penalty is that it creates many financial problems for the families of the offenders. People believe death penalty to be very harsh because it affects the financial status of many other people associated with the offender. Some families have only one source of income and if that source if put to death by the state, it is totally an illogical and unethical act. Immoral Act Another argument is that death penalty is against the basic rights of a person. People believe that a person should not be sentenced to death because no body has the right to take the life of a person in any case. “It is simply immoral and barbaric to allow people to be killed by the state even if they have committed violent crimes” (Hinton). Answer: No: 4 In the United States, there are different types of jails, which serve different purposes. Three main types of jails in the United States include maximum, medium, and minimum security jails. Minimum-security prisons are for those people who are not violent and have not been involved in any sort of violent activity. The offenders who are kept in minimum-security prisons are peace-loving citizens who are not involved in any big crime. They are there for rehabilitation purpose and live a normal life. These prisons are generally located near military camps or government institutions. The people kept in such prisons are white-collar criminals, first-time offenders, and non-violent criminals. Some of the violent criminals are also shifted to such prisons if they show good behavior while spending their time in medium or maximum-security jails. Although minimum-security prisons provide many facilities to the prisoners, still it restricts the personal freedom and separates people from the outside world (Favre). If we talk about medium security prisons, we can say that it restricts the daily activities of the prisoners more than the minimum-security prisons but less than the maximum-security prisons. Enclosed by a razor-wore fence, a minimum security jail keeps less violent prisoners in order to create awareness among them about the importance of a peaceful life by isolating them from the outside world. The security guards regularly visit the jails in order to watch daily activities of the prisoners. Maximum-security prison is the most isolated form of prison in the United States. In such prisons, those criminals are kept who either commit violent crimes or create problems and threats for other prisoners if they are kept in minimum or medium security prisoners. Such prisoners are kept in separate cells in order to restrict their interactions with other prisoners and the outside world. Answer: No: 5 It is a fact that incarceration of female prisoners creates more family problems as compared to the problems created due to incarceration of male prisoners. A woman is a real source of unity and harmony among the members of a family. A woman keeps the family members united and injects the senses of love, peace, and trust among them. When a woman is incarcerated due to any specific problem, it creates many difficulties and problems for the whole family. The family structure begins to break in case of incarceration of a woman. It is observed commonly that mothers are more conscious about the wellbeing of their children and other family members and if a mother is locked up in the jail, there is no person left in the home who can care for the children in a proper manner. Another point is that incarceration of a mother puts a very negative effect on the mental upbringing of the children. When the children of such mothers go to their schools, their classmates often inquire them about their mothers’ offense and incarceration, which destroys the dignity and self-respect of the children. Children need complete attention of their mothers for their proper social, mental, and psychological development. Incarceration of mothers due to any reason makes the lives of other family members very awful. Therefore, we can say that although incarceration of the male prisoners is also a very disturbing reality for the families but incarceration of the female prisoners is somewhat more adverse and troublesome for the families. Answer: No: 6 It is very important for the public that prison inmates receive treatment for mental and medical problems during the period of their incarceration. Some of the most considerable benefits of mental and medical treatment of prisoners for the society include healthy atmosphere, peaceful society, well-behaved people, less diseases, and social security. When the prisoners are provided with medical and mental treatment in the prisons, it brings a very positive and healthy impact not only on the metal and physical health of the prisoners but also on the whole society once they are released. If a government wants to create a healthy atmosphere in the society, it must take steps to provide appropriate physical and mental treatment to the prisoners in order to make them a valuable part of the society. The society can also become more peaceful and nonviolent if all people living in that society will be mentally and medically fit. Prison should not be a place just for incarceration of the criminals; rather it should also be a place for rehabilitation of the criminals. Governments must provide criminals with free medical and mental treatment in order to reduce their desire to commit any sort of crime once they come out of jails. Another benefit of mental and medical treatment of prisoners is the development of well-behaved people who can play a valuable role in the society instead of becoming some sort of threat for the society on release. Therefore, we can say that mental and medical treatment of prisoners in extremely important not only for the criminals but also for the overall wellbeing of the society. Answer: No: 7 Governments of some countries are trying to employ private prisons not only to balance the budget of the federal, state, and local governments but also to provide better services to the prisoners. There are various advantages of private prisons, such as, provision of better services, decreased costs of prison management, better living conditions, effective rehabilitation of the prisoners, and interactive environment for the prisoners. Along with these advantages, there also exist some disadvantages of private prisons. Some of the disadvantages include dependency on the private firms, higher costs of operations, poor security measures, and decreased transparency. Private prisons cut down the prison management cost of the government, which is a good thing about such prisons. Private prisons also provide better services to the prisoners, such as, better medical and mental treatments, better tools for exercises, and proper meal. Employing private prisons are profitable for the governments. “One of the many reasons why private prisons are profitable is their ability to hand pick inmates and return problem inmates back to state facilities thus avoiding the increased medical and staff expenses associated with these inmates” (Monroe). Governments just have to provide money to the private prison firms to manage the prisons. There is no extra burden on the government related to prison management in case of employing private prisons but the drawback is that increased dependency on such prisons can become trouble for the government in case the private firms start demanding more money from the government to manage the prisoners. Therefore, we can say that although employing private prisons is profitable, but lack of focus towards the management of such firms can make them disadvantageous for the governments. Works Cited Favre, Dominik. “Types of Prisons.” Associated Content, 11 May 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011. . Hinton, Patrick. “The Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty.” Suite101.com, 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2011. . Monroe, Brad. “Budget by 1 Billion Dollars? Yes.” Ezinearticles.com, 26 Dec. 2010. Web 09 Apr. 2011. . Renter, Elizabeth. “The Goals of Sentencing in Today's Criminal Justice System.” Associated Content, 06 Feb. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2011. . Siegel, Larry. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 12th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2010. Read More