Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Prison overcrowding and its effects
Prison overcrowding and its effects
American prison systems
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Prison overcrowding and its effects
Prison overcrowding and its effects
American prison systems
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Intermediate sanctions is a courts response to the overcrowding prisons in the United States. These sanctions are a step up from probation and a set down from incarceration. With these sanctions, rehabilitation is the primary goal, which is used to reform offenders who return to society. There are several types of intermediate sanctions such as house arrest where the offender confined to their home, which they can not leave unless there is school, job, or court. Fines can be several dollars or several thousands of dollars.
In 2014 there were 215,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons, almost half were there for drug-related offenses with the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses in the 1980s, increasing the population by more than 800 percent (Malcolm, 2014.) “Moreover, drug offenders make up the single largest category of incarcerated offenders in Tennessee, serving an average sentence of 9.7 years” (Malcolm, 2014, paragraph 21.) By limit sentencing, we can address the issues of high cost, by using probation and parole for more misdemeanor
The first drug court was established in Miami-Dade, Florida in 1989. Drug courts were established because of the “revolving door of drug use” and increasing recidivism rates. Drug courts have the ability to change a person’s life for the better by teaching them how to beat their addictions while providing the proper treatments for each offender. As a result, of the ongoing development of drug courts it is unfair to expect the system to be indefectible. Still, there are many benefits in participating in the drug court system.
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.
Sentencing Guidelines are a set of rules used by judges in the criminal justice system in the United States. The sentencing guidelines were first established in Massachusetts in 1994. When the sentencing guidelines were established, its main goal was to "promote truth in sentencing by developing a set of guidelines that was appropriate in consideration to the crime the individual had committed." (Massachusetts Sentencing Guidelines, February 1998, the Honorable Robert A. Mulligan, Chairman). There are ten steps that are included in the sentencing guidelines.
US citizens are transferred to jails across the country over 10.5 million times annually. Mass incarnation is one of the many major issues in our criminal justice systems. There are currently more than 740,000 people being held in jails and prisons across the United States. That high number is triple what it was just 50 years ago. A big factor in that statistic is the fact that more than 65% of inmates are awaiting their court date to arrive.
Conditional sentences are primarily intended when a person commits their first crime and there is no reason to fear that he or she will re-offend. Probation can be applied to crimes for which fines are considered insufficient. If a conditional sentence is forced, there will be a probationary period of two years. During this period, the person must conduct himself in an acceptable manner. The conditional sentence may be combined with day fines and/or an obligation to perform community service.
The Sentencing Reform Act is related to the Complete and thorough Crime Control Act of 1984 were the U.S. federal law increased the consistency in the United States federal sentencing. The Sentencing Reform Act created the United States Sentencing Commission. This act allowed the independent commission into the (law-related) branch of the United States Sentencing Commission. It consists of seven voting members and one nonvoting member. For the benefit of the United States Sentencing Commission, there are rules that establish sentencing policies and practices for the Federal criminal justice system, which secures/makes sure of a meeting of the purposes of sentencing.
The current system that incarcerates people over and over is unsustainable and does not lower the crime rate nor encourage prisoner reformation. When non-violent, first time offenders are incarcerated alongside violent repeat offenders, their chance of recidivating can be drastically altered by their experience in prison. Alternative sentencing for non-violent drug offenders could alleviate this problem, but many current laws hinder many possible solutions. Recently lawmakers have made attempts to lower the recidivism rates in America, for example the Second Chance Act helps aid prisoners returning into society after incarceration. The act allows states to appropriate money to communities to help provide services such as education, drug treatment programs, mental health programs, job corps services, and others to aid in offenders returning to society after incarceration (Conyers, 2013).
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a federally funded, executive agency consisting of 39,683 employees and housing 193,070 inmates via 122 different institutional locations currently maintaining a thirty-four percent rate of recidivism (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016, About tab). The Bureau is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and performs duties of care and custody, rehabilitation program and services, and provides services for the prevention of future crimes. The Bureau is also responsible for carrying out all legally mandated federal executions, with Terre Haute, Indiana being home for the lethal injection center. Facilities are broken down into different classifications based on security concerns, and house inmates accordingly by
During the 1980’s and 90’s, crime rates starting wavering around their highest rates that they have ever been. This raise in crime rates called for action to be put into place in order to compensate. One of the actions put in to place during this time was a change in sentencing law. Previously, judges were given huge discretion when it came to sentencing and incarceration rates had been dropping for a while. This directed the creation of federal sentencing guidelines.
This model focuses on the individual needs of the offender and in doing so increases their chance of living sober once they reenter society. For example, indeterminate sentencing allows offenders who exhibit good behavior and participate in prison substance abuse programs to be paroled closer to the minimum sentencing term. This means the offender can be released from prison based on conditions set forth by the court. If the offender violates parole by committing another crime or failing to continue substance abuse treatment, they can be returned to prison. Furthermore, offering indeterminate sentencing for offenders who meet the criteria creates prison space thus helping with the ongoing problem of prison overcrowding (Seiter,
Objectives of sentencing (form of punishment based on a conviction) and the purpose of alternative sentencing. Each sentencing has a philosophy and goal behind it. The first goals of sentencing is the retribution possess which means that every offender is responsible for their crime and is still a primary sentencing for criminals, it's an act of revenge on the criminal offender. Next, Incapacitation is the means of imprisonment or restraint and isn’t considered punishment; consequently, it’s to protect the innocent from the offenders. Deterrence seeks to prevent criminal behavior by threatening the fear of punishment composed by general deterrence that hopes to stop future crimes that was committed or by the specific deterrence that hopes to
isn’t the only thing people believe needs to change; the reasons for arrests have been criticized by many. America incarcerates more citizens for drug related crimes than any other place in the world. Of the roughly 200,000 in federal prison, 52% are being held for drug crimes and only 8% are for violent crimes, such as: murder, assault, and robbery (Waldman, 2013). Many believe that the “War on Drugs” must become less aggressive because of its large contribution to the prison population. The distribution of prisoners by race has also raised concern among Americans.
In the criminal justice system when a person commits a crime and they are found guilty the judge will sentence them. What does it mean to sentence someone? Sentencing is the standards that is used to determine a punishment for the offender. The sentencing stage is only done after the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty. However, just cause a judge sentence someone does not mean jail or prison time only.