Bias v. Advantage International Upon the completion of Len Bias’s collegiate basketball career at the University of Maryland, Bias on April 7, 1986, reached an agreement with Advantage International who consented to counsel and maintain his affairs. The Advantage representative who was assigned to his case was A. Lee Fentress. The Boston Celtics picked Bias on June 17, 1986, in the first round of the National Basketball Association draft. Then, two days later on the morning of June 19, 1986, unfortunately Bias died of a cocaine overdose.
A recent trend in the United States Justice System, at local and state levels, is to implement the use of formulas and algorithms to determine sentencing length. In her article “Sentencing, by the Numbers”, University of Michigan law professor Sonja Starr focuses on this trend, and shows flaws that she finds in the system. In the article, she agrees with the actions of Attorney General Eric Holder in criticizing the system for the way in which it determines the risk of future crimes. Throughout, Starr presents the system as something that will, instead of solving mass incarceration, make the problem worse for impoverished persons and minorities. Starr argues that the system discriminates against those with a socioeconomic disadvantage, has
These drugs, especially if they were “crazily accessible”(51) should have been taken away by the government. It is indeed impossible to take away all the drugs in a community, but it was impossible for the government to have no knowledge of the issue, thus they should have worked harder to prohibit or lessen drug usage. Plus, it was so addictive that “A pregnant mother sold her body to get another hit”(51). This drives home the point that drugs are detrimental to one’s mentality and health. A mother, responsible for another life on top of hers, is willing to sell her body for drugs.
1. Do you believe that each of the 3 inmates deserved the death penalty? Why or why not? After viewing the National Geographic documentary titled “Death Row Texas”, I found myself grieving the loss of my father.
It is an important issue to be discussed. At this moment it may not directly affect everyone, currently a large percentage of those affected are people in poverty or men of color; but the number of incarcerations has greatly increased over the past “40 years” and may continue to increase in the long run affecting many. Stevenson is trying to raise awareness, informing his audience about the justice system today and how it favors those who are “rich and guilty [rather] than if you’re poor and innocent.” He is trying to raise awareness as to how punishment in the criminal system does not stop at a certain age, and how the death penalty “in America is defined by error.” Through his experiences and efforts he has found a need to bring public awareness as to how unjust the United States criminal system is.
Sadly, many people died because of this hysteria. Five people were hung the following July, five in August, and eight others in September. This doesn’t include people who were convicted as well as seven others who were sent to die in a jail
The role of the government is to keep everyone and everything in line. The government should have a sentencing reform because with the system we have now it 's just making things worse. Some people are being placed in jail because of their color when there are real criminals that are set free when they really did do something wrong like murdering someone. The government should have a sentencing reform because the system now is just making things worse. To begin with, The government should have a sentencing reform because the system now is just making things worse.
2 In recent years, mandatory sentencing laws have been introduced in NSW. Alcohol related violence mandatory sentence was introduced by the NSW government On 21 January 2014. This was introduced because of the amount of one-punch hits while intoxicated. Teens such as Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie have been killed because intoxicated people for no reason hit them.
Updating the Amendment 2.0 The right to bear arms has been a favoured constitutional law since its establishment in 1791, but as more gun related violence and accidents occur, there has been increasing debate on whether or not guns should be banned in the US altogether, and if not, what regulations should be required for the purchase and handling of them. While guns should not be completely banned from the country, the rules and regulations of gun laws should be tightened. In the 2nd amendment, it clearly states that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” While this statement still holds true, the evolution of firearms and how they have become more dangerous throughout the years is a clear sign of why the laws should be changed.
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
The are several types of sentencing that follows what is intended to be an impartial judicial proceeding during which criminal responsibility is ascertaining. Majority of the sentencing decisions are made by judges, although in cases such as death sentence cases, a jury may be involved in a special sentencing of the sentencing process. Unfortunately, sentencing decision is one of the most difficult made by any judge or a jury especially when it impacts someone’s life. Additionally, there are numerous sentencing models in the United States such as determinate, indeterminate, and mandatory minimum sentencing. First, determinate sentencing is a set term of incarceration and sentencing could potentially be reduced by good time.
Mandatory Maximum Jail Time for Convicted Rapist The basic right of humanity is consent, which is permission for something to happen, but an abundance of people’s consent have been violated in the state of Illinois. There is an uncertain amount of rapes recorded but research has shown about 27.7 per 100,000, meaning there is about 3,324 reported cases each year and those are only the reported accounts (Sutter). Many people do not report their case due to the lack of resources for their case and the belief that nothing will change even if they report their case. On many accounts, that leads rape victims feeling helpless,vulnerable.
As a result of the increasing animosity of law enforcement authority and justice officials within our society, it has become apparent that the time for Congressional action is now to aid in calming the social fire storm of recent social anti-police movements, increased deadly ambushes upon unsuspecting police officers, and hateful rhetoric in the form of rebellious movements. So where should our nation’s leaders begin? Professor Paul George Cassell J.D. professor of Law at the University of Utah and former Unites States federal Judge suggests by starting with a reexamination of congressionally mandated mandatory minimum sentencing. In Cassell’s publication titled “Sense and Sensibility in Mandatory Minimum Sentencing” Cassell argues the unreasonableness of forcing mandatory minimum sentencing upon state courts when oftentimes, the punishment far exceeds the severity and/or social impact of the crime. As he explains within the text, “In practice, statutory minimums can distort the processes and outcomes of the federal system.
Gun Control in the United States Gun control in the United States has become a highly contested topic recently due to the mass shootings that have occurred. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines mass murder as a murder in which four or more people are killed in one incident (Morton). Over the past decade the topic of gun control has been prevalent in new legislation because mass shootings seem more frequent. Statistics reveal that although mass shootings have not become more frequent over the years, they have become deadlier with higher death tolls than ever before. The firearms and ammunition that civilians are able to obtain since the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban in 2004 have led to the increase in the death toll (Duwe).
Sentencing disparity within the American Judicial system is a problem that exists across the nation. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, disparity means the markedly distinct in quality or character. Many times, disparity is used in conjunction with discrimination as if the two words mean the same, but they do not. Disparity will include a difference in treatment or outcome but is not based on an opinion, bias or prejudice.
