ipl-logo

Essay On Felony Offender Status

958 Words4 Pages

The state of New York has some of the most stringent laws in the country when it comes to violent felony offenses. In an effort to curb crime and protect its citizens, the state has enacted a number of sentencing enhancements that can result in longer prison terms for those convicted of violent crimes. These enhancements come in the form of persistent violent felony offender status, second violent felony offender status, and various violent felony offenses. While some argue that these enhancements are necessary to keep violent offenders off the streets, others question whether they are truly effective and meaningful. Persistent violent felony offender status is one of the most severe sentencing enhancements in New York State. It applies to …show more content…

The theory is that if someone has already been convicted of multiple violent felonies, they are unlikely to change their behavior and may continue to be a danger to society if released from prison. By imposing longer sentences on these individuals, the hope is that they will be kept off the streets and unable to commit further crimes. However, some argue that persistent violent felony offender status is too harsh and does not take into account individual circumstances. For example, someone may have committed multiple violent felonies early in life and then turned their life around, but under this law, they could still face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life for any future violent felony convictions. Additionally, critics argue that this enhancement disproportionately affects people of color, who are more likely to be convicted of violent crimes and receive longer sentences than white individuals. Another sentencing enhancement in New York State is second violent felony offender …show more content…

However, some argue that this enhancement is more fair than persistent violent felony offender status because it only applies to individuals who have committed two violent felonies, rather than those who have been convicted of two or more. In addition to these sentencing enhancements, New York State also has a number of violent felony offenses that carry severe penalties. These offenses include murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, and assault with a deadly weapon, among others. Those convicted of these offenses face long prison terms and may also be subject to the persistent violent felony offender or second violent felony offender enhancements if they have previous violent felony convictions. While these sentencing enhancements and violent felony offenses may seem harsh, proponents argue that they are necessary to keep violent offenders off the streets and protect society. They point to statistics that show a decrease in crime rates in New York State since these laws were enacted. Additionally, they argue that the threat of longer prison terms deters some individuals from committing violent crimes in the first

Show More
Related
550 Words | 3 Pages

The Three Strikes Law states that a penalty enhancement should be handed down to anyone who had previously been convicted of one or more supposedly serious or violent felonies. Under the same laws, an offender who had previously been convicted of a violent or serious felony, regardless of how diminished it may be, face the risk of double-sentencing under the guidelines of the second strike. On the other hand, a third- strike sentencing guideline is applied when an offender with two or more previous crimes is convicted. Under this guideline, a minimum of twenty-five years to life is applied. However, for the third-strike sentence to be passed, the previous crimes committed must be either violent or serious.

Read More
403 Words | 2 Pages

On August 13, 2013 Pete Yost, a journalist with the Associated Press, published an article titled “Attorney General Eric Holder to Push for Sentencing Reform” informing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s view on the current criminal justice system at the time. Holder believes that the nation’s view of harsher punishments has become less effective as “Mandatory minimum prison sentences” have come to be the norm. (Yost, 2013) A proposed strategy that has been generated would focus the criminal justice systems attention to the “low-level, non-violent drug offenders [and] elderly non-violent offenders”. (Yost, 2013)

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

In fact, research indicates that longer stays in prison do not lead to lower recidivism. Eliminate Three Strikes Laws and Truth in Sentencing Both policies take away the ability of judges to properly asses the appropriate sentence for defendants in the criminal justice system. We should trust our judges to make these decisions instead of forcing an inappropriate sentence with set-in-stone

Read More
349 Words | 2 Pages

In 1993, twenty three states and the federal government adopted some form of the three strike law intending to target repeat offenders. The State of Washington was the first to do so; the State of California soon followed with a considerably broader version of the law. Even though, adopted versions of the three strike law vary among the states, the laws generally reduced judicial discretion by mandating severe prison sentences for third (in some instances first and second) felony convictions. 1993 was unquestionably the peak of public concern about crime and the peak of the political response to that concern, resulting in what was a unique punitive period in American history. America’s incarceration rate increase more during the 1990s than

Read More
1486 Words | 6 Pages

A prison sentence is designed to punish people who break Society’s laws, but that isn’t always the case. In March of 2016, Star Student athlete Brock Turner at Stanford College was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious and intoxicated woman behind a dumpster, while he also was intoxicated, he was possibly facing ten years. June 2nd, 2016, Turner was sentenced to 6 months in Jail by Judge Aaron Persky, his reason being that “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others” (Why Brock Turner Only Got 6 Months in Jail, 1). Although his sentence was light, he also had to register as a sex offender.

Read More
1209 Words | 5 Pages

Recently, the government has developed a tactic called the "three-strike rule. " This law was enacted in 1994 by Congress and the Clinton administration. The purpose of the law was to give longer sentences to those who were previously convicted of a violent or severe felony to prevent them from being released and doing a crime again. Due to this law being passed, many minorities stayed in prison for most of their lives. This caused the government and private companies to build more prisons and profit from them.

Read More
1249 Words | 5 Pages

All across America, two and three strikes laws have been part of the Justice Department’s Strategy for Anti-Violence. These kinds of policies make a few requirements. One of the requirements is that if an individual has been found guilty of committing a felony that was violent, and also has two convictions on their record, they will serve a life sentence automatically. The two strike and three strike laws main focal point is to highly increase the punishments of the individuals that are convicted of more than two crimes that are considered serious. The purpose of this essay is to discuss two strike and three strike laws, if these laws positively or negatively affects the society, and if whether or not these laws are fair.

Read More
1798 Words | 8 Pages

Defined as a public policy that imposes an outlined amount of prison time based on the crime committed and the defendant’s criminal history, these sentences dictate that a judge must enact a statutory fixed penalty on individuals convicted of certain crimes, regardless of extenuating circumstances. Such laws have removed discretionary sentencing power from judges, instead focusing on severe punishments in line with national drug and crime concerns. While the original goal of mandatory minimum sentences was to deter potential criminals, reduce drug use, control judicial prudence, the policy has had extreme consequences such as sentencing imbalances and

Read More
1378 Words | 6 Pages

Mandatory minimums have long been a controversial topic in regard to the United States criminal justice system. Many people who are little to no threat to the public have received long and harsh sentences because of the mandatory minimums. The purpose of these laws was to help prevent future crime, deter people from drug use, and give violent offenders longer sentences. These legislative changes have caused the lengthening of sentences, truth in sentencing laws, and three-strike laws. Mandatory minimums require convicts to serve a minimum amount of time for certain crimes or because of their recidivism.

Read More
1728 Words | 7 Pages

The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.

Read More
168 Words | 1 Pages

Mandatory minimums are court decisions whereas judicial discretion, or the judge’s ability to lower or increase the sentence, is limited by law. With the aim to lower crime rates, certain crimes, especially nonviolent drug crimes, are punished with a minimum number of years in prison. But, in many cases, specifically nonviolent drug offenses, this sort of punishment never reflects the crime. Because the context of the crime must always be considered when sentencing someone, and mandatory minimums throw context right out the window . . . Not only do mandatory minimums undermine justice by preventing judges the power to lower a sentence based on the context of the crime, but they also contribute to America’s rising prison population.

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

Inconsistent applications of mandatory minimums generate disparate sentences among similarly situated offenders. Some basic facts may trigger the same minimum sentence for a low-level drug courier and a narcotics kingpin, for example, while enormous

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Criminal Justice Reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country. Mass incarceration disproportionally impacts the poor, and people of color, and does not make us safer. In an attempt to balance safety and justice for those accused of a crime, many jurisdictions have enacted new criminal laws. Some examples of this new approach include the elimination of cash bail, decriminalization of actions previously treated as crimes, and refusal to prosecute persons arrested for crimes.

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

In other words, if you commit a crime the second time, you serve double and if you commit the 3rd time, you get sentenced minimum 25 yrs. in jail, no matter what crime it is. This was a new law implemented after a man who was recently paroled. He had many criminal records such as drug possession and gun abuse. At the time of release, he was on influence and was a drug addict.

Read More
1048 Words | 5 Pages

There is a worldwide trend in the use of penal imprisonment for serious offenses as capital punishment has been renounced by an increasing number of countries. Harsh punishments include capital punishment, life imprisonment and long-term incarceration. These forms of punishments are usually used against serious crimes that are seen as unethical, such as murder, assault and robbery. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals and ensure justice is served. Opposition towards harsh punishments have argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness because they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease recidivism rates and do not provide rehabilitation.

Read More

More about Essay On Felony Offender Status

Related Topics

Open Document