1. C H A P T E R T H R E

2. SENTENCING: To Punish or to Reform?
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3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.”

6. 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.”

7. 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.
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8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

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

15. 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.
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16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.
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20. VICTIM-IMPACT STATEMENT
A description of the harm and suffering that a crime has caused victims and society.
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21. 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

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

23. 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.

24. 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.
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25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

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