1. Criminal Justice Chapter 4.1 The Aim of Criminal Sanctions Unit 1

2. Key Knowledge

3. Key Skills These are the skills you need to demonstrate: discuss the effectiveness of criminal sanctions analyse data on sentencing and crime trends in Victoria compare one aspect of Victoria's sentencing approaches with that of an international jurisdiction discuss the impact of criminal acts on individuals and society. Can you demonstrate these skills?

4. The trouble with hoons Read the article on page 93 1.Do you think the introduction of harsher sanctions for hoon drivers is warranted? 2.Will the sanctions help stop this type of criminal activity?

5. Case Study: “Mother found guilty of killing her sons-twice’ David Fitchett cried with relief after a jury found his ex-wife guilty of the murder of his two young boys. It was the second time David's ex- wife Donna, aged 51 years, had been convicted of murdering their two sons, Thomas, aged 11 years, and Matthew, aged 9 years. In her first trial, in 2008, Mrs Fitchett pleaded ‘not guilty’ to murder on the grounds that she was mentally impaired at the time of the killing of her sons at their Balwyn North home (in September 2005). During the trial the court heard evidence that Mrs Fitchett, a qualified nurse, killed her boys after giving them an overdose of prescription drugs, once she realised her marriage was over. She was convicted by the jury of murder and sentenced.

6. Case study continued.. In 2009, Mrs Fitchett lodged an appeal against her conviction and sentence claiming, amongst other things, that the trial judge had failed to properly explain to jurors the legal consequences of being found guilty by reason of mental impairment. Mrs Fitchett won her appeal and was granted a re-trial. In May 2010, after a three week re-trial, another jury, once again, found Mrs Fitchett guilty of murder.

7. Questions 1.Determine what sentence they would give Mrs Donna Fitchett 2.Explain what factors they might consider when determining their sentence 3.Explain the aims of their sentence, that is, what are they hoping their sentence might achieve for the victims, society and Mrs Fitchett.

8. 4.1 The aim of criminal sanctions When courts impose criminal sanctions there are many factors they need to consider: 1.Prior convictions 2.Character evidence 3.Show of remorse 4.Suffering caused as detailed in a victim impact statement 5.Doctor or psychologist reports

9. The purpose of imposing sanctions Five purposes or aims or purposed of imposing a sanction; 1.Punishment - this should fit the crime, be based on the evidence presented and not be influenced by the media 2.Deterrence - specific deterrence of the offender and general deterrence discourages others from committing the same crime 3.Rehabilitation - education, violence, drug and alcohol programmes are offered to change behaviours of offenders 4. Denunciation - shows to the offender and society that the actions were considered inappropriate and wrong 5.Protection – by placing someone in prison protects the rest of the community

10. You Be The Judge http://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/virtualjudge/ Click through the Flash presentation. They are given a case scenario (including the facts of the case, the prescribed maximum sentences for the offence, and additional information to consider such as prior convictions, the offender's personal history and victim impact statements) and required to determine the appropriate sentence. Choose one case; Richard, Terri, Dane, or Peter complete the activities, you can work in pairs

11. Important legal terms; Sanction Deterrence Rehabilitation Denunciation Prior conviction Victim impact statement Rehabilitation Do you know what they mean?

12. Your turn Complete the following questions; Test your understanding 1-3 Apply your understanding 4-5

13. Indigenous incarceration rate jumps - http://www.jacplus.com.au/secure/Searchlight?searchbox=eles-0747 Statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that adult prisoners are 18 times more likely to be indigenous than non- indigenous and that these figures had doubled in the last 20 years