Social Status Indeterminate Sentencing

"Results indicate that, while structural-level variables played a large part in explaining the development of the guidelines, a more accurate and complete understanding of this process is possible by including an analysis of the individual-level characteristics of Commissioners, including their professional backgrounds, ideological perspectives, styles of leadership, and future goals" (Rodriguez, 2018, pp. 1-17). In my opinion, social status affects sentencing because these people are respected members of society. Quite a few times I have seen these people receive small sentences based on who they are and because they have money. Some are not even in jail for more than a few hours and then they are placed on paper for things such as probation.

In determinate sentencing the judge can make adjustments to the final day of incarceration, however, the inmate can leave no sooner that the mentioned final day. During indeterminate sentencing, a final day of incarceration is not known exactly and adjustments can be made for different modes of incarceration. The judge and jury are able to change these sentences depending on the severity of the crime and the history of the inmate. I believe that this is why judicial discretion has such a great effect on these types of sentencing. The sentences can be adjusted appropriately in order to be sure that the offender does not end up being given too much or too little time for the crime that they committed. I find this to be interesting because I was under the impression that a sentence was a sentence and that it did not change. I have never had to be seen in court, however, I have overheard the inmates talk about their sentences that they were given on court day. Some seem shocked that they received the time limits that they did. Some inmates will even ask me if the sentence they were given sounds

So it is interesting to see how much time the judge and jury thought that the particular crime was deserving of."An alternative explanation is statistical discrimination, which implies that judges rely on race to predict a felon’s latent criminality in the absence of perfect information"(Park, 2017, pp. 810-823). Sentencing does create many issues, not only on families and jails, but on the inmates mental state as well. Long sentences can tear apart families and force children to grow up in a broken home for the duration of the sentence. Children then grow up missing out on special family moments that they need to grow and develop. Wives go years without husbands and husbands go years without wives which can lead to unfaithfulness, loneliness, and depression. Long sentences also take their tolls on jails and prisons. Keeping an inmate longer than a few months can be very taxing on the resources of the jail and prison. Resources in these places are limited and not kept in high supply. This means that some places frequently run out of needed materials. Long sentences also lead to overcrowding inside jails and