Sentencing Essays

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing in Recent Legislation: Is it Effective? The Canadian government has been sending mixed messages regarding current punishment practices in this country. It has a strong commitment, as do the provinces, to using community-based corrections. At the same time, recent federal legislation and amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada are encouraging tougher penalties, most of which are mandatory prison time for gun-related offences. Do these amendments go far enough? Should

In 2010, then President Barack Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act into law. The law aimed to reduce the disparity between the amount of powder cocaine and crack cocaine needed to trigger federal penalties from a ratio of 100:1 (originally set by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986), to a ratio of 18:1. The law also eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of crack cocaine (Fair Sentencing Act, 2010). The act is expected to be beneficial to around three thousand defendants

mandatory penalties will not produce just outcomes and will anyway likely be subverted.” (Frost, 2006, p.3) By doing so, many marginalized groups will be negatively affected by this practice. One group particularly affected by mandatory minimum sentencing is the Black community. “The Report of the Commission found that in general "Black accused (30 per cent) were significantly more likely than White accused (23 per cent) to be refused bail and imprisoned before their trials.” (Mirza, 2001, p.507)

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

doughnuts from the corner store. You are at your home when suddenly officers burst in and arrest you. Then during your court proceedings, the prosecutor brings up two prior convictions from thirty years earlier so he can charge you under mandatory sentencing laws. This means a life sentence without parole over a fifty- cent pack of doughnuts. Though this scenario sounds too outrageous to be true, it happened to Robert Fassbender, a California man. States Attorney Yraceburn stated," Because of his (Fassbender)

Mandatory sentencing occurs when a crime is committed and a required sentence must be provided from the magistrate or judge. Normally, a required sentence sets a minimum sentence. If it deems it appropriate, a court can still impose a sentence that is longer than the maximum penalty and sometimes, it is also mandatory for a court to order that prison sentences be served one after the other (cumulatively), and not at the same time (concurrently). In Queensland serious repeat child sex offenders receive

Mandatory minimum sentencing requires a minimum sentence based on the crime that the offender committed (Levinthal, 2012). The majority of the laws involved illicit drug activity and is based on the amount of the substance that was in the individual’s possession. Unlike general sentencing, the judge involved in the mandatory minimum sentencing must follow strict guidelines that are provided. The judge cannot decrease the term of the sentence, no matter the circumstances that are involved in the

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

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

A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of military discipline may have occurred. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Convention requires that prisoner of wars who are on trial for war crimes

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. Sentencing can mean a variety of things such as, fines, probation, time in a rehabilitative service, etc. When a judge sentences the defendant, he bases it off the severity of the crime. The Sentencing Process and Determination

with the same crime and same situation but are sentenced to different lengths in jail. Discrimination is common today in the jail system. Countless innocent people are impacted by unfair jail sentencing; fortunately, the government is attempting to make a difference by lowering minimum and maximum jail sentencing. Frequently in history there has been discrimination in the jail system. The discrimination in the jail system has come in many ways including race, gender, and religion discrimination. This

prisoners incarcerated for low level offenses. Before I begin to discuss the three-strikes law, it is imperative that I give some background information on sentencing guidelines. During the 1970 's the incarceration sentences imposed were indeterminate, meaning the judge had the discretion to sentence an offender on a case by case basis and sentencing a person to state prison or county jail was supposed to be to rehabilitate that person so he/she could re-enter society. Often time’s prisoners were sentenced

as a result of its representation. Courts are usually open for public viewing and able to provide transcripts that highlight reasons for its sentencing decisions. It also highlights its use of current procedures outlined to it through legislation. However media primarily disseminates court decisions and makes comments

In 1994, Congress passed the Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants law. Truth-in-Sentencing laws were put into place to help reduce the possibility of an inmate being able to have early release from incarceration. Each state has their own policies, rules and regulations for inmate release. The truth-in-sentencing law requires that offenders serve the majority of their prison sentence imposed by the court in order to be eligible for release. Previous policies included reducing the amount of time

offender, the seriousness of the crime, the aggravating and mitigating factors, whether the defendant pleaded guilty and other factors pertaining to the age of the offender (whether it is an adult or youth offender. Seeing as they are different sentencing guidelines and types of sentences given to the defendant depending on his/her this essay will be split into two parts. They are three main classifications of sentences for both youth and adults; custodial sentence, fines, community sentence and

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

Within the criminal justice system, sentencing is a key aspect as it protects the public whilst delivering justice for the victims and defendants (Davies, Croall & Tyrer, 2015). In England and Wales, the purposes of sentencing are; to punish the offender; reduce crime through deterrence; rehabilitate offenders; protect the public and making reparation to the victims of crimes (Bettinson & Dingwall, 2012). When passing a sentence, judges are required to take into account offence seriousness, aggravating

previous studies, many examined the independent effects of race and gender on sentencing, and others looked at their joint effects. However, prior research has not looked at all three statues together-race, gender, and age- and how they can affect the sentencing of a defendant. The article use information from a statewide data from Pennsylvania between 1989-1992, to examine the effects of race, gender, and age on sentencing, particular on how each factors might contextualize each other. The primary

TITLE OR PURPOSE An effort to retroactivly change the current system of corrections in revielence to non-violent drug offenses. MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED The largest area to be affected is the present system of sentencing that has been set up for non-violent drug offenses by the Department of Justice and the Department of Corrections. JUSTIFICATION Today, the average federal prison is overcrowed by 36 percent. In 2013, the total federal prison system had a capacity rated to hold 132,221 inmates