AlverniaJudicial ProcessSpring06: Chapter 16 Review Questions

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Chapter 16 Review Questions

Please post an answer to a question for Chapter 16. You may not answer a question already answered by a classmate.

# posted by dfreeman @ 8:49 PM

Comments:

public criticism of lenient sentencing tends to occurs in a select number of violent crimes or highly unusual circumstances. in what ways do such discussions deflect attention from the question of what the appropriate sentence should be for the bulk of defendants convicted of nonviolent crimes and drug-related crimes ? I think That the public is more aware of the violent crime and the sentences they get because of the cruel punishment like death penalty. But I believe that there is not an appropriate sentence for the non violent crime’s defendant because I believe that will deepened of the crime they commit and also other many important reason, like a criminal background,, if they were victims in that crime, or other question that the court may be interesting in. but Most of the time the appropriate sentences are imprisonment, probation restitution or other sentences, it depends on what type of crime is.

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:24 PM

4. To what extent can slight variations in the defendant's background produce markedly different sentences? In exhibit 16-5, calculatate the recommended sentence for a defendant convicted of a second-degree assault. How much does the sentence change if the criminal history score is a 2 or a 3? Do you think this is too much variation to be deterent by a mathematical calculation?

The variations in defendant's background are the total times that the defendants may have been incarcerated, their previous convictions, the defendant's employment history, whether the defendant is on parole or probation, educational achievements,and their history on drug or alcohol abuse.
The sentencing change for a defendant convicted of second degree assault on levels 2 and 3 have a difference of a few points which means that if someone has some other factor in their background, they could quickly be sentenced to more time in prison. I think that system is both fair and unfair, because the more criminal history you have, the more time a defendant may receive for their crime. I think in a way that it's fair because how many crimes can a individual commit before they're sentenced to some real time in prison.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:30 PM