Karen Moses
CRJ301: Juvenile Justice
Instructor: Timothy Koester
08/30/2010
When someone commits a crime and they are caught and convicted they receive some type of punishment through the process of sentencing. The three main reasons for criminal sentencing are punishment, crime reduction and reparation. Some types of sentencing may contain things to help with deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation and retribution of the convicted criminal. When someone is found guilty of committing a crime a court of law must decide what the punishment will be. The eighth amendment to our constitution prevents some one from receiving “cruel or unusual punishment” which means that someone found guilty of robbery can not receive the death penalty or that the punishment must fit the crime. Punishment may come in the form of serving time in a jail or prison. The length of time will depend on the type of crime committed and how serious the offense was. Someone who deprives another person of property is not going to receive the same amount of time as someone who intentionally kills someone. A convicted criminal may also be subjected to probation or some other types of things as part of being released out into society again. These are meant as a type of prevention tool to help a criminal not reoffend in the future. When people who are convicted of crimes receive some type of punishment it is hoped that it will reduce the rate of crime in an area or city. It is assumed that when others see and hear about a person being punished for doing a crime they might stop and think before they commit a crime themselves. Punishment can also come in the form of reparation which is often in the form of money being paid by the criminal to the victim. In certain cases community service can be imposed on a criminal in place of money or jail time or can be added as part of a way to be released early. When it comes to deterrence there are two types specific and general. Specific deterrence is meant to scare the offender enough to prevent them from committing crime in the future. General deterrence is meant to scare society by teaching them a lesson and showing those in society what can and will happen if you commit a crime.
http://www.uslaw.com/us_law_article.php?a=249
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