The Criminal Justice System Chapter 12

Elements of the Criminal Justice System  Criminal Justice Law  Texas criminal justice system: The system of law enforcement that is involved in apprehension, defense, prosecution, sentencing, and punishment of those suspected or convicted of committing a crime.  Texas Penal Code: Set of codes that provide the laws, penalties, and correctional measures for crime in Texas  graded penalties: Depending on the nature of the crime, felonies are graded as first degree, second degree, third degree, and state jail; misdemeanors are graded as A, B, and C.  enhanced punishment: Additional penalties or prison time for those who engage in organized crime or hate crimes, and repeat offenders.  capital felony: A crime punishable by death or life imprisonment.  plea bargain: A deal between the prosecutor and the defendant in a criminal case in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a specific charge and in return will get certain concessions from the prosecutor. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2

Elements of the Criminal Justice System  Criminal Justice Policy  Drug crimes  Most arrests: possession of controlled substance  Response: incarceration  Counties with 550,000 must establish drug court  Hate crimes  James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act (2001)  District attorneys decide Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 3 Learning Check

The Death Penalty  Reinstitution of the Death Penalty  Before 1923: executions or hanging  After 1923: electrocution  1972: Furman v. Georgia ruled death penalty was racially biased  1973: Texas rewrote laws, lethal injection  Past three decades: Texas executed more capital felons than any other state Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 4

The Death Penalty  Reviewing the Death Penalty  Texas rejects idea of moratorium  One supporting factor: deterrence  Too long between sentencing and execution  Average time on death row: 11 years moratorium: The delay or suspension of an activity or law. A moratorium may be imposed when something is seen as needing improvement. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 5 Learning Check

Correction and Rehabilitation  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice  Providing Public Safety  Increased use of probation and job training  Imprisonment rates have declined  Problem maintaining workforce  Lack of air conditioning in facilities  Administrative segregation: Commonly referred to as solitary confinement, this practice isolates an inmate in a separate cell as punishment, typically for violent or disruptive behavior. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 6

Correction and Rehabilitation  Texas Department of Criminal Justice  Promoting Positive Behavioral Change  Discipline and education  Combat recidivism  Every prisoner must be given a job  More than half enrolled in vocational and academic classes (Windham School District)  administrative segregation: Commonly referred to as solitary confinement, this practice isolates an inmate in a separate cell as punishment, typically for violent or disruptive behavior.  Recidivism: Criminal behavior that results in incarceration after a person has been released from confinement for a prior offense Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 7

Characteristics of Texas’s Prison Population (2012) Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 8

Correction and Rehabilitation  Texas Department of Criminal Justice  Reintegrating Offenders  Reentry and Integration Division  Criminal Justice Assistance Division  Parole Division  Successful reintegration complicated Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 9

Correction and Rehabilitation  Texas Department of Criminal Justice  Assisting Victims  Victim Services Division  Victim impact statements  Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund  Up to $50,000 Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 10

Correction and Rehabilitation  Local Government Jails  Found in all but 19 counties  350 municipal jails  Private Prisons  More than any other state  Substance abuse programs/halfway houses Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 11

Juvenile Justice  State and Local Agencies  “Delinquent children”: Texas youth between ages 10 and 17  “Status offenders”  Texas Juvenile Justice Department Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 12 Learning Check

Juvenile Justice  Procedures  Detained in separate facilities  Counseling and probation  Residential treatment and commitment  Adjudication hearing: A trial in a juvenile court  Considering raising age of adulthood Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 13 Learning Check

Problems and Reforms: Implications for Public Policy  Overcrowding and Mental Illness in Prison  Harris County jail third largest in country  Many have mental illness Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 14

Problems and Reforms: Implications for Public Policy  Technology  The Prison Show - a show on KPFT, advocates for prison reform and allows prisoners to have an outlet to the world.  Facebook and online blogs  DNA database Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 15

Problems and Reforms: Implications for Public Policy  Exoneration Issues  Texas compensates wrongfully incarcerated  $80,000 for each year wrongly imprisoned  Tuition for college or training  Lifetime annuity  Assistance in accessing social services  Health insurance Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 16

Problems and Reforms: Implications for Public Policy  Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System  Target minority groups  Annual racial profiling reports  Latinos moving toward becoming majority of population Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 17

Problems and Reforms: Implications for Public Policy  Misconduct by District Attorneys  Code of Criminal Procedure  Focus on justice  91 criminal cases ( )  Hiding evidence  Improper arguments to jury Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 18 Learning Check