Goals Of Sentencing Essay

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There’s a reason there isn’t chaos running in our streets. That’s because as society we have rules you must follow and if these rules are broken there are punishments. Sentencing is act declaring a punishment that is usually decided by a sentencing authority, such as a judge. As society we have goals when sentencing offenders. There are many goals with sentencing, but the three important ones are punishment, making sure that an offender understand there are consequences when breaking the law, incapacitation to make sure the offender doesn’t re-offend and rehabilitation, to try and change the offender and make a law-abiding person.
A person who refuse to follow the law, is to live under the law of worse men. The first goal of sentencing is punishment. One of the reasons why punishments is an important …show more content…

If there were not proper consequences for people who committed a crime, many people would not be afraid of breaking the law and do as the wish. If there were no consequences this could also lead to the question whether our legal system is working. Punishing offenders also ensures public confidence in our legal system, showing that no one is above the law and everyone will be punished accordingly “Punishment is aimed at deterring individuals from breaking the law, ensuring public confidence in the legal system and maintaining social order” (White & Knowles, 2013, p.157). Laws must be enforced to keep society stable, if not it could lead to much chaos. Another reason punishment is an important goal of sentencing is because punishment is how victims can receive retribution against the people who have offended them. Victims feel hurt and they feel like they need revenge and the best way to help them is by making sure the offender is punished because of they are not; victims or people close to victims may