Discuss causes of criminality and determine treatment likely to prevent reoffending
CHAPTER 9
Sentencing
Introduction
James Q. Wilson: “wicked people exist”
Set them apart through imprisonment
Thomas Hobbes: “in revenge and punishments men ought not to look at the greatness of evil past, but at the greatness of the good to follow”
Sentencing should deter offenders
Goals of Sentencing
Many reasons for imposing sanctions, may be contradictory
Retribution
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Restoration
Reasons not mutually exclusive, often overlap
Retribution
Reflects society’s moral outrage at or disapproval of a crime
Focus on crime, not individual
Sentence proportionate to crime; balance harm caused by offender
Deterrence
People are rational beings with free will who prefer pleasure over pain
People weigh the benefits and cost of future actions before deciding to act
Choose crime when benefits exceed costs
Types of deterrence
Specific deterrence: aimed at individual offenders
General deterrence: aimed at potential offenders
Incapacitation
Removal of offenders from the community through imprisonment or banishment
Form of specific deterrence; prevents offenders from committing future crimes
Selective incapacitation; focus on high-rate and dangerous career criminals
Rehabilitation
Reforming an offender to become a productive member of society through treatment, education, or counseling
Dominant philosophy during period of 1940s through the 1970s
Identify causes of criminality, determine treatment likely to prevent reoffending
Proportionality
Fairness: making the punishment fit the crime
Ultimate determination of proportionality made by Supreme Court
Types of Sentences
Primarily linked to particular offenses
Specified by state and federal criminal codes
Judges have wide range of sentencing options
Intermediate Sentences
Intermittent incarceration
Intense probation supervision
Fines
Community service
Restitution
Forfeiture
Indeterminate Prison Sentences
Establishes minimum and maximum number of years to be served
Actual time for release determined by a parole board
Determinate or Structured Prison Sentences
Fixed terms of imprisonment
Emerged as a result of the sentencing reform movement in the 1970s
Goals
Eliminate sentencing disparities
Create system of uniform sentences
Redistribute time served in prison
Presumptive Sentencing
Range of minimum and maximum terms of incarceration
Judge determines specific number of years served within range
May depart from presumptive sentence if aggravating or mitigating factors exist
Sentencing Guidelines
Limit judge’s discretion to impose disparate sentences for similar offenders
Deemphasize rehabilitation as a primary goal in sentencing
Guidelines direct judge to determine sentence by weighing offender’s criminal history against severity of current offense
Mandatory Sentences
Require imprisonment of offenders who are convicted of certain types of serious crimes
Mandatory minimum sentences established enhanced prison terms for particular crimes
Habitual Offender Statutes
Three-strikes laws
Require longer sentences for offenders convicted of a third violent felony
Unintended consequences
Positive association with homicide rates
Disproportionately harsh effects on African Americans
Truth in Sentencing
Require that offenders and especially violent offenders serve at least 85% of their sentences
Establish closer correspondence between judicially imposed sentences and actual time served in prison
Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences
Concurrent sentences
Multiple sentences served at the same time
Consecutive sentences
Multiple sentences served one after another
Arriving at an Appropriate Sentence
Sentencing a difficult decision for judges
Consider three interrelated questions
What are the appropriate goals of sentencing and how should they be weighed?
How can sentencing goals be achieved under the circumstances of the case?
What specific sentence is justified given facts of the case?
The Presentence Investigation Report (PSI)
Widely believed to be the cornerstone of sentencing decisions
Comprehensive report on offender background, offense, other relevant information
Helps the court understand the nature of the crime within the context of the offender’s life
Based on interviews with offender, family members, employers, friends, police reports, victim statements
The Sentencing Hearing
Felony sentencing takes place at sentencing hearing
Offender may deny, explain, add to information in PSI report
Prosecutor may make sentence recommendations
Bifurcated trial required in sentencing of offenders convicted of capital crimes
Role of the Victim in Sentencing
Victims permitted to submit victim impact statements (VIS); oral or written
Justifications for VIS at sentencing
Criticisms of VIS
Disparity and Discrimination in Sentencing
Determinate sentencing reduces sentencing disparity but does not eliminate it
Sentencing disparities occur when similar cases are sentenced differently
Sentencing discrimination exists when illegitimate morally objectionable or extralegal factors are taken into account in the sentencing decisions
Disparity and Discrimination in Sentencing
Race/ethnicity: African Americans disproportionately receive prison sentences
Gender: Women find increasing leniency at all stages of system
Socioeconomic status: Poor defendants less able to post bail, may lead to disadvantage at sentencing
Age: Research mixed, but recent study found no significant relationship between offender age and length of sentence
Capital Punishment
Between 1977 and 2014, more than 1,394 executions in the United States
Average of 38 executions each year
Peaked in 1999, when 98 persons were executed
Number of Persons Executed in the United States, 1977–2014
Source: Snell, T. (2014). Capital punishment, 2014—Statistical tables. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State.
Supreme Court Decisions
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
McCleskey v. Kemp (1972)
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
Coker v. Georgia (1977)
Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008)
Supreme Court Decisions
Perry v. Lynaugh (1989)
Stanford v. Kentucky (1989)
Payne v. Tennessee (1991)
Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
Roper v. Simmons (2005)
The Death Penalty Today
36 states, federal government have statutes authorizing death penalty
Since 1977, executions carried out in 34 states
65% in Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia
More than 1/3 in Texas
Majority of prisoners under sentence of death in 2013 were white, never married, had less than high school education, overwhelmingly male
Methods of Execution
Methods used in United States
Lethal injection
Electrocution
Lethal gas
Hanging
Firing squad
Lethal injection primary/exclusive method in 36 states
Arguments for Capital Punishment
Largely focused on deterrent impact
Another justification rests on the principle of retribution
Broad public support for death penalty persists in United States
Arguments Against Capital Punishment
Discrimination in application
Brutalizing effect on society
Criminal justice system not infallible; possibility of death-row inmate being innocent exists
Grounds for Appellate Review of Sentence
Sentence violates Eighth Amendment
Sentence is disproportionate
Abuse of discretionary power
Fell outside statutory sentence guidelines
Imposed by a court not having jurisdiction authority
The Appeal Process
Postconviction appeals
Notice of appeal must be filed 30 to 90 days following conviction
All death penalty sentences required to undergo automatic appellate review
Today, after exhausting state appeals, most prisoners are allowed only one appeal in federal courts
