C H A P T E R T H R E

SENTENCING: To Punish or to Reform? Photo © Corbis, used with permission.

D E F I N T O S SENTENCING: Imposition of a criminal sanction by a sentencing authority, such as a judge. SENTENCE: The penalty a court imposes on a person convicted of a crime.

D E F I N T O SOCIAL ORDER: The smooth functioning of social institutions, the existence of positive and productive relations among individual members of society, and the orderly functioning of society as a whole.

WHY PUNISH? John Conrad: “The punishment of the criminal is the collective reaction of the community to the wrong that has been done. It is the offender’s lot to be punished.”

SENTENCING GOALS REVENGE: Punishment is equated with vengeance and involves an emotional response to criminal victimization. RETRIBUTION: Punishment involves a “settling of scores” for both society and the victim. Victims are entitled to “get even.”

SENTENCING GOALS DESERT: Offenders are morally blame-worthy and deserving of punishment. Punishment restores the moral balance disrupted by crime. DETERRENCE: Punishment will prevent future wrongdoing by the offender and others. Punishment must outweigh the benefits gained by wrongdoing. McGraw-Hill © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

SENTENCING GOALS INCAPACITATION: Some wrongdoers cannot be changed and need to be segregated from society. Society has the responsibility to protect law-abiding citizens from those whose behavior cannot be controlled. REHABILITATION: Society needs to help offenders learn how to behave appropriately.

SENTENCING GOALS REFORMATION: Without learning acceptable behavior patterns, offenders will not be able to behave appropriately. RESTORATION: Crime is primarily an offense against human relationships and secondarily a violation of a law. All those who suffered because of a crime should be restored to their previous sense of well-being.

D E F I N T O S REVENGE: Punishment as vengeance. An emotional response to real or imagined injury or insult. RETRIBUTION: A sentencing goal that involves retaliation against a criminal perpetrator.

D E F I N T O JUST DESERTS: Punishment deserved. A just-deserts perspective on criminal sentencing holds that criminal offenders are morally blameworthy and are therefore deserving of punishment.

D E F I N T O SOCIAL ORDER: The smooth functioning of social institutions, the existence of positive and productive relations among individual members of society, and the orderly functioning of society as a whole.

D E F I N T O S DETERRENCE: The discouragement or prevention of crimes through the fear of punishment. SPECIFIC DETERRENCE: The deterrence of the individual being punished from committing additional crimes.

For punishment to be effective as a deterrent, it must be: • Relatively certain • Swiftly applied • Sufficiently severe

D E F I N T O S GENERAL DETERRENCE: The use of the example of individual punishment to dissuade others from committing crimes. INCAPACITATION: The use of imprisonment or other means to reduce an offender’s capability to commit future crimes. McGraw-Hill © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The pleasure-pain principle, central to modern discussions of general deterrence, holds that actions are motivated primarily by the desire to experience pleasure and avoid pain.

D E F I N T O S REHABILITATION: The changing of criminal lifestyles into law-abiding ones by “correcting” the behavior of offenders through treatment, education, and training. REINTEGRATION: The process of making the offender a productive member of the community.

D E F I N T O S RESTORATION: The process of returning to their previous condition all those involved in or affected by crime—including victims, offenders, and society. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: A system- atic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing the wounds of victims, offenders, and communities caused or revealed by crime.

PRESENTENCE REPORT A report, prepared by a court’s probation department, that provides a social and personal history as well as an evaluation of a defendant to help the court determine a proper sentence. Photo © Corbis, used with permission. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

VICTIM-IMPACT STATEMENT A description of the harm and suffering that a crime has caused victims and society. Photo © Corbis, used with permission.

SENTENCING OPTIONS • Alternative or intermediate sanctions (i.e., day fines, community service, day reporting centers, electronic monitoring) • Fines and other monetary sanctions • Probation • Incarceration • Death

TYPES OF SENTENCES • MANDATORY: Required by law under certain circumstances. • CONSECUTIVE: Served one after the other. • CONCURRENT: Served together.

SENTENCING MODELS • INDETERMINATE: Specifies a duration range modifiable by parole. • DETERMINATE: Specifies a fixed duration reducible by good time. • GUIDELINE: The two types, Voluntary/ Advisory and Presumptive, specify suggested or mandated duration ranges based on computed sentencing scores.

D E F I N T O SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS: Legislatively approved provisions that mandate longer prison terms for specific criminal offenses committed under certain circumstances (e.g., a murder of a police officer or a drug sale near a school) or because of an offender’s past criminal record. McGraw-Hill © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

D E F I N T O MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING: The imposition of sentences required by statute for those convicted of a particular crime or a particular crime under special circumstances (e.g., robbery with a firearm or selling drugs to a minor within 1,000 feet of a school), or for those with a particular type of criminal history.

D E F I N T O HABITUAL OFFENDER STATUTE: A law that (1) allows a person’s criminal history to be considered at sentencing or (2) makes it possible for a person convicted of a given offense and previously convicted of another specified offense to receive a more severe penalty than that for the current offense alone.

SENTENCING PRINCIPLES PROPORTIONALITY: Match the severity of punishment to the seriousness of the crime. EQUITY: Similarly treat similar offenders who commit similar crimes. SOCIAL DEBT: Consider offender’s prior criminal record when determining the severity of the punishment. TRUTH IN SENTENCING: Require offenders to serve a substantial portion of a sentence.

TRUTH IN SENTENCING Time Served in State Prisons Compared with Court Sentences