Probation and Punishment - Research Paper Example

 Probation and Punishment QUESTION 1 Outline Of Findings From The Kris’ File: The 25 year old Kris is aged 13 and is on probation for a civil case that involves battery. As Kris undergo the juvenile [probation, he gets himself into the arms of the law and is again arrested for a criminal offence. The offence Kris is accused of at this time is trespass that lead to an additional probation. This is seen as the first offence that Kris is being accused of at an adult age. He is later convicted but further investigations leads to a conclusion that the victim has a good relationship with the family and no criminal record has ever been witnessed in the family history. In addition. There is no cases of mental illness either in the family or for the case of Kris. There is also evidence that Kris has successfully passed his high school education. During free time, Kris is seen hanging out with friends and is sported at a popular local band. He is not involved in any sort of drug abuse including alcoholism and hopes to join a local college to advance his studies for the sake of acquiring the necessary skill required to start up a business. Kris has since been married and looks forward to lead a favourable life without any problem The common view of this article and the view given by Robert is that Kris should be subjected to a weekly probation and there is possibility of him completing the probation successfully. Besides, the idea that Kris has since become married and is confident of a future life free from trouble is a clear indicator that Kris will greatly benefit from the proposed probation. On the contrary, the difference seen in the view of this paper and that of Robert is that Robert does not give credit to the idea of forcing Kris to be subjected to drug test on regular basis. According to Roberts, subjecting Kris to any drug test will violate the fundamental rights which Kris is entitled to. However this paper is of a contrary opinion that Kris should be subjected to regular drug test to avoid any problem with the police should any drug specimen be found in his blood. This could also see Kris find himself in a probation risk. Question 2: Profile of the Perfect Person for Probation The profile of the perfect candidate for an inter probation program is the provision of a probation plan to follow in terms of what exactly should be done. Tailoring of an inmate to the probation facility is very essential for the success of the probation plan. The deep hall should be used as a correctional facility thus enhancing the measures that aim at reducing recidivism. The three attributes that makes a candidate the perfect person for probation is the person must have committed a juvenile crime that can be corrected through a probation mechanism as opposed to jail term. This is because the use of prisons should be aimed at acting as correction facilities that bring the crime offenders to normal citizens (Parent, Wentworth, Burke, Ney, & Abt Associates, 2012). Besides, the person must be of sound mind and not insane, this is because anybody who is found insane is not in a position to adopt well with the principles and objective of te probation mechanism. Thus, it requires a person with sound mind to be subjected to probation. The third attribute that make an individual fit for probation is the presence of good family history that has no criminal or drug abuse record. This will act as a means of helping the person come out of the criminal acts that may be as a result of peer pressure and any other problem in the society. In order to consider anybody fit for probation, it is thus important to ensure that the factors describe above are met. As per the person discussed above, he is the perfect person for the probation exercise since all the three attributes of a perfect probation condition has been fulfilled. Question 3: Defense of the Strategy of Matching Inmates with Correctional Facility The strategy of matching the inmate to the correctional facility as a response tom legal concept of cruel and unusual punishment is welcome and should be encouraged. This is because the prisons were set up for the principle purpose of acting as correctional facilities. Thus, whenever anybody commits criminal offence, a correctional measure should be taken to ensure that the person is made to avoid committing the crime again. Having prisons as the only solution to all criminal offenses means that all criminals will be punished while no efforts are made to stop the further commitment of the criminal offenses in the near future. This will see an increase in criminal cases as the prisons become filed up with criminals. Probation is thus important in reduce the overcrowding of prisons with criminals and at the same time reduce the number of incidences criminal cases. This is because probation will be aimed at correcting the criminals and teaching them how to become good citizens in the society. By practicing probation, it will be possible to use the reformed criminals as good ambassadors to fight crime in the society. Thus, the strategy of matching inmate to the correctional facility is welcome as it will decide which criminal offence to face imprisonment and which criminal offense to be put under probation (Morris & Tonry, 2011). Question 4: Defense Of Programs And Amenities Aimed At Making Life In Prison Effective. The programs and amenities that are used to make life in prison effective are a way of making sense that prisons are not center of torture and inhumane treatment but correctional facilities. The practice of hiring extra officers is welcome and should not be viewed as a way of wastage of time and the taxpayer’s money. This is because the prisoners are also entitled to all the fundamental human rights and thus should not be denied access to such rights. In addition, the provision of counselling psychology and therapy is a welcome move that ensure that the prisons give the inmates educate, counselling and advice that will improve the correction efficiency of the prisons. Thus, all these practices are in good faith and show a time and taxpayer’s money well spend and thus are defended (Easton & Piper, 2012). References Morris, N., & Tonry, M. H. (2011). Between prison and probation: Intermediate punishments in a rational sentencing system. New York: Oxford University Press. Easton, S. M., & Piper, C. (2012). Sentencing and punishment: The quest for justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Parent, D. G., Wentworth, D., Burke, P., Ney, B., & Abt Associates. (2012). Responding to probation and parole violations. Cambridge, Mass: Abt Associates. Read More