Sentencing Vs Rehabilitation

1. Of the various goals of sentencing, which one do you favor? Why? Explain the disposition suitable to your choice.

There are various goals of sentencing or punishment for an offender. In my opinion, of the seven goals I personally favor rehabilitation. To begin, rehabilitation is providing offenders with the services or programs they need in order to change their behaviors, character, and attitudes. Many of these wrongful behaviors are what gets them into the criminal situations they find themselves wrapped up in. By offering them hands on help to fix themselves we can eventually reduce crime. I believe that many if not all offenders have poor behaviors and attitudes, which allows them to commit crime without any second thought – by changing

On several occasions is it quite possible through rehabilitation to target these predispositions and reduce or eliminate the possibility of committing crime all together. Many of these programs focus on an offender’s risks and needs. For example, if we find an offender who is highly addicted to drugs or alcohol and several of their offenses involve drugs and/or alcohol we can provide them drug and alcohol treatment, counseling, and support. Rehabilitation would allow the offender to overcome their addiction and better themselves. Other rehabilitation programs allow offenders to learn job and social skills, provides education, and overcome barriers (drugs, alcohol, violence, etc.) – overall, it encourages offenders to change their own paths and set themselves up for a better future through reintegration into society. In conclusion, of the seven goals of sentencing I believe that rehabilitation is the most promising because it deals with the offenders’ behaviors and attitudes directly – while setting them up for an encouraging future,

An indeterminate sentence is a sentence which has no definite term – this typically consists of a minimum and maximum sentence (ex. 10-20 years). On the other hand, a determinate sentence is imposed of a definite term – meaning a set amount of time (ex. 20 years). It is also essential to compare the two sentencing types in order to make an accurate decision. First, an indeterminate sentence allows for the early release of an offender based on their behavior or the effect of good time. An offender can reduce their prison time through good behavior up to 54 days at the end of each year – hence, they can meet early release requirements if they then serve the required minimum length of their sentence and then receive parole. Consequently, a determinate sentence follows guidelines specific to the crime, which is typically a mandatory sentence. This type of sentence comes from structure guidelines judges use, which says offenders who have committed similar crimes will also receive similar incarceration sentences (depending on the severity of the crime and conduct). A determinate sentence is used to reduce disparities and increase fairness in the legal system. Due to the fact that a determinate sentence is X amount of years there are very little opportunities for good time and early release. Therefore, if I were to appear before a judge tomorrow, I would hope to