TEXTBOOK CJ2012 FAGIN-Select 5 of the following - Essay Example

Thus, the concept of general deterrence is based on the premise that the fear of punishment will act as a deterrent for people from committing crimes. Besides, deterrence also relies on the idea that the punishment awarded to a person who commits a crime discourages others from committing a crime. On the other hand, specific deterrence, also known as special deterrence focuses on the principle of avoiding recidivism by the criminal. Thus, the punishment awarded for the crime is specific to the person who commits the crime.

Specific deterrence further encompasses the tenet that the harsher the punishment is, the lesser is the chance of the offender to recidivate. Thus, the theory of specific deterrence attempts to prevent crimes by inflicting a specific punishment on the offender to remove in the tendency in him or her to commit such offences in the future. This will also serve as a warning to others so that they also will not commit such crimes. Determinate Sentencing and Indeterminate Sentencing The Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice, defines determinate sentencing as “sentences of incarceration in which an offender is given a fixed term that may be reduced by fixed time or earned time” (National Assessment of Structured Sentencing xi).

On the other hand, indeterminate sentencing is “sentences in which an administrative agency, generally a parole board, has the authority to release an offender and determine whether an offender’s parole will be revoked for violations of the conditions of release” (xi). The system of indeterminate sentencing has several inherent problems such as offering discretion to jail authorities and parole officers the time of stay of an offender under the sentence and the length of sentencing tended to depend on individual criminals and not on the crimes.

On the other hand, determinate sentencing, a system introduced after the “sentencing reforms of the late 1970s” replaced the parole release concept with a “fixed (flat) sentence that could be reduced by a significant good time provision” (14). Thus, convicts under the determinate system are mandated for a specific period of incarceration as opposed to indeterminate sentencing where they were released on parole. Determinate sentencing relies on just deserts concepts rooted in the “utilitarian or crime control model” and the length of incarceration depends on the gravity of crime 915).

Thus, the concept of determinate sentencing encompasses a mandatory minimum incarceration, depending on the offence committed, whereas indeterminate system involves release of the convict on parole, without having to under a prison sentence. The Difference between Legal Insanity and Incompetence to Stand Trial The criminal justice system takes into the account the mental competency of an offender, at the time of committing a crime, before awarding a punishment to him or her to determine whether the person has been mentally competent to understand the consequences of his or her action.

Thus, courts reserve the right to declare an offender “not guilty by reason of insanity if at the time of the offence, because of a mental disease or defect, he or she did not understand the nature, character, and consequence of the act, was unable to distinguish right from wrong” (Warren et al 381). On the other hand, a person can be considered for acquittal on the grounds of his lack of “