While researching this topic I have found multiple pros and cons of the three strikes law. Some of the pros that were mentioned include: repeat offenders will stay in prison; can deter offenders who have had two felony convictions from committing another crime; and it only applies to convictions. The first pro of the Three Strikes law is that repeat offenders will stay in prison for at least 25 years after their third conviction. If criminals choose to continue to break the law then will have to pay for their crimes. These criminals will not have a fourth chance to break the law.
Today I called the Illinois Representative Michael J. Madigan office and received his answering machine. I left him a message asking him to please consider passing bills for sentencing reform legislation, such as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (SRCA), S.2123. I told him that I am a registered voter and it has come to my attention that the federal prison population has skyrocketed dramatically over the past 35 years and most of the people in the prisons are in for minimum drug sentences. I told him that while people are in prison they are losing income, job skills, and are typically unable to attend rehabilitation programs. All of these aspects make it extremely difficult for the people to obtain jobs or get on the right path once
This is certainly a conflicting issue. While it is fair to value the welfare of law abiding citizens over the welfare of convicted felons, placing restricting on felons presents the issue of those felons lacking the ability to become a contributing member of society. Like you mentioned, that can provide the push needed for them to return to crime rather than working towards a steady life of their own. Further research into the costs and benefits of such restrictions is necessary to determine whether these types of restrictions actually do benefit society overall like they intend to.
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which were introduced about three decades or so ago, allow judges to issue a minimum prison sentence at the discretion of the prosecutor, who determines the charges that are placed against a defendant. These laws, as outlined by the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation (n.d), limit the power of the judges to make a judgment on the punishment that can be given to a defendant. The meaning being that mandatory minimums transfer the power to give sentences from the judges to the prosecutors, a scenario that is worsened by the fact that some prosecutors misuse this power. As such, mandatory minimum sentences should be repealed, particularly for the gun and drug-based offenses. Mandatory Minimum Sentence Laws Foster Uncontrolled Prosecutorial Discretion Evils
After watching the video about Virginias plan to turnover their mental institution to a financial corporation resulting in sex offenders being held until further notice under state regulations, in my opinion, the plan would definitely be a horrible idea due to the lives of inmates being tossed to the side for a few bucks causing many questions to arise. For instance, the civil commitment law which is regulated in many states to say that even if a sexual offender serves his/her time, the government can force the inmate to stay longer in the facility. The issue with this law is that corporations are making money off of inmates that already paid their debt to society and now are forced to remain in these facilities. According to Cenk Uygur (2012),
Felons and Voting: Should Felons Be Allowed To Vote? If society thought criminals could be never be reformed, the government would not allow them to be released out of prison, correct? Leading to a bigger question, why should ex-felons and felons not be able to vote? A felon is person that has been convicted of a felony.
What do you think of when you hear the word “felon”? Do you scan through the many stigmas attached to the word? Do you wonder what “god awful” thing they did to land themselves with that ugly word written in capital letters on their forehead? Or do you, in a more humane sense, wonder how they will ever succeed in life again now that “felon” is their new name? Life after incarceration is not easy by any means.
Many drug offenders are often forced into the drug business because of economic reasons, resulting from the increased difficulty of finding jobs after prison, due to the felony that is attached to their name. Employers are often discouraged from hiring a person that has committed a felony, because of the uncertainty in their behavior. A study done by the Urban Institute, found that only 45% of all Americans that had been to prison, had a job within a year of being released. It was even lower for drug offenders, as only 25% of all drug offenders in the United States were able to find a job once released (McVay). It’s hard enough finding a well paying job because of the current state of the economy in the United States.
Why is it that felons can’t vote well that is different for every body and what i mean by that is everyone has a different theory or opinion on that subject and that's ok. The most commonly used excuse is that since they went to prison they obviously make bad choices so why should they be allowed to pick the nation's leader or even the county sheriff or the district attorney. The law that felons can’t vote has been around for hundreds of years it actually came from ancient Greece and Rome. In europe there is “civil death” it involved the forfeiture of property, you lost a simple right to appear in court and a prohibition on entering into contracts, and the loss of voting rights.
The United States Congress created the Federal laws to safeguard citizens in the United States of America. Criminals that violated the federal laws are automatically prosecuted in the United States District Court. Criminals can fall into two different categories, such as felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies can lead to more than a year in prison, while a misdemeanor can lead up to one year or less. The United States Congress has the authority to decide whether a criminal deserves to be charge for a felony or a misdemeanor; however, State legislatures makes the decision on criminals that violate state laws.[i]
Have you ever wondered if Thomas Edison?s statements support the idea of student-centered learning. Edison says you have to keep working and learn from mistakes just like student-centered learning. I?m going to tell all about how Edison?s statements support the ideas of student-centered learning. This is one of Edison?s statements that support the ideas of student-centered learning. According to the text ?
Sentencing Sentencing occurs after a defendant has been convicted of a crime. During the sentencing process, the court issues a punishment that involves a fine, imprisonment, capital punishment, or some other penalty. In some states, juries may be entitled to determine a sentence. However, sentencing in most states and federal courts are issued by a judge. To fully understand the sentencing phase of criminal court proceedings, it is important to examine how sentencing affects the state and federal prison systems, learn the meanings of determinate and indeterminate sentencing, and understand the impact Proposition 57 has had on sentencing in California.
Once someone is arrested and sent to prison, most of us think they have done their punishment and learned their lesson. Unfortunately, this is not the case most of the time. Once these inmates are released most of them end up re-offending and going back to prison, this is called recidivism. It looks follows the inmates three years after they are released and sees if they get reoffend and go back to prison with a new sentence. The Bureau of Justice did a survey to see how many offenders went back to prison after they were released.
Introduction Sentencing methods and rationales are continually highly contested in the Criminal Justice system. Monetary penalties are particularly pivotal in these debates. According to Walsh, research from all corners of the world continually demonstrates that the poorest in society are more likely to be subject to the Criminal Justice System. This evidence Walsh argues, ‘cannot be ignored’, when considering which sentencing options should be used. The fine is the most commonly used penal sanction in most Western Penal systems.
In a world without law peace and justice would be hard to maintain. The law is created to help protect the people’s rights and keep them safe. Throughout time laws have been changed either creating new laws or restructuring old laws or just removing old laws. There is a thin line between right and wrong and that is why people have been struggling throughout the ages to come up with the perfect set of laws to follow. With this uncertainty set in place the question of whether if it is ever justified to break the law comes up.
