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Theory of sentencing
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Mandatory minimum sentencing laws also take away input of judges on specific cases and disregard uniqueness of circumstances. For example, in 2013, there was a widowed 55 year-old woman named Shirley Schmitt in Iowa who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for producing about 50 grams of methamphetamine. These laws targeted major suppliers of drugs such as drug traffickers or cartels to protect society but in Schmitt’s case, she was only feeding her addiction (“‘Should Mandatory Sentencing Be Repealed? Yes." Women in Prison.”). Since this case fell under the mandatory minimum laws, the judge’s authority was not taken into account for sentencing. In the March 3, 2017 issue of the Congressional Quarterly Researcher titled “Women in Prison: Should they be treated differently than men?” the author, Sarah Glazer, gave an anecdote of …show more content…
Without the judge’s authority in the cases, the judge cannot decide a punishment for the specific case and the defendant, and it is left up to the prosecutors. According to the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, “prosecutors frequently threaten to bring charges carrying long mandatory minimum sentences and longer guidelines sentences to scare a defendant to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence and give up every factual and legal basis for a defense.” With this power that prosecutors hold, they want the citizens of the United States to believe that the justice system hasn’t been warped and that they use their power considerately and concisely so they preserve their power in drug cases (Monsell, 2017). Every crime and every case is unique and different, right? According to Molly Gill, “Lengthy mandatory minimum sentences are cruel, inhumane, and degrading because they obliterate individualized justice, the bedrock of any fair sentencing system” (“Let's Abolish Mandatory Minimums: The Punishment Must Fit the Crime,”
This documentary highlighted the devastating consequences that these mandatory minimum sentencing’s can have on people such as in the case of Kemba Smith and Johnny Patillo, two first time offenders who were charged under the mandatory minimum sentencing’s. Johnny Patillo sentenced to serve 10 years and Kemba Smith sentenced to serve 24.5 years, these individuals were no different than your average citizen who got caught in the fire of these barbaric laws and individuals like these two are used as a deterant to send a message to the public in their efforts to take control of the war on drugs..
A 1997 RAND Corporation study found that treatment of heavy drug users was almost ten times more cost effective in reducing drug use, sales, and drug-related crime than longer mandatory sentences (Echols, 2014). Other studies have shown that mandatory penalties have no demonstrable marginal or short-term effects on overall crime reduction either. Congress established mandatory sentences in order to incarcerate high-level drug criminals, but according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, only 11 percent of drug charged prisoners fit that description (Echols, 2014). Most of those incarcerated are low-level offenders, whose spots in drug trafficking are easily filled by other people. Mandatory minimum sentencing is essentially a waste of scarce criminal justice resources and federal funds that could be used elsewhere, and The Smarter Sentencing Act’s reduction of mandatory minimums can be the first step in eliminating minimum sentencing altogether. Ideally, given the opportunity for discretion, judges would be more inclined to issue more effective alternatives to incarceration, such as rehabilitation programs and/or
Sentencing is an extremely individualized basis, which should be treated as such (Pomerance, Renee M, 2013). The causes and effects of each individual situation cannot possibly be summed up into one punishment. Judges are extremely good at their job, and should be able to supply punishments that they believe are fair and just for each individual incident. Canada does not need so many mandatory minimum sentences, and should be allowing the judges to do their job, by using their own discretion. By allowing the judges to think for themselves, and use past judgements on certain cases, Canada will have a much more fair and democratic criminal justice program. Therefore, causing the crime rates to eventually
The article explains that the majority of women involved in the prison system are poor single mothers. The same majority of poor single mothers are all serving sentences for nonviolent drug-offenses. This article as well as many others, place a significant amount of blame for the increasing prison population on the War on Drugs. The authors explain the correlation between poverty and the implication of mandatory drug sentencing laws.
Mandatory Minimum sentencing has been around since the late 1700's for very heinous crimes like murder and rape; but since the mid-1980's, mandatory minimum sentences have become increasingly more popular, with figures on both ends of the political spectrum backing bills proposing a mandatory minimum sentence for non-violent crimes, especially for crimes relating to the war against illegal drugs (Mascharka). Even with many people voicing their opposition to these laws, many states, even today, still continue to pass new, similar laws, targeting different types of offenders for different types of crimes. These sentences, while once useful, are creating more harm than good, causing the United States to become the global leader in incarceration rate, surpassing most other nations by over 6 percent (Mascharka). Carl M. Cannon believes that the abolishment of these laws would be good for the United States, by reducing the number of incarcerated peoples we have on the streets, which would reduce taxes for U.S citizens. Cannon has clearly done his research, and his data backs up his claim and supports it extremely well.
To begin, Mandatory minimum sentences result in prison overcrowding, and based on several studies, it does not alleviate crime, for example crimes such as shoplifting or solicitation. These sentencing guidelines do not allow a judge to take into consideration the first time offender, differentiate the deviance level of the offender, and it does not allow for the judge to alter a punishment or judgment to each individual case. When mandatory sentencing came into effect, the drug lords they were trying to stop are not the ones being affected by the sentences. It is the nonviolent, low-level drug users who are overcrowding the prisons as a result of these sentences. Both the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have determined that mandatory sentencing is not an effective way to deter crime. Studies show that mandatory minimums have gone downhill due to racial a...
Mandatory minimum sentencing is the practice of requiring a predetermined prison sentence for certain crimes. The most notable mandatory minimums are the ones implemented in the 70’s and 80’s, hoping to combat the rising drug problem. Mandatory minimum sentencing has existed in the United States nearly since its very birth, with the first mandatory minimums being put into place around 1790. Recently, as the marijuana laws of many states have scaled back in severity, the issue of mandatory minimums has caused controversy in the US. There are two distinct sides to the argument surrounding mandatory minimum sentencing. One group believes we have a moral obligation to our country requiring us to do no less than lock up anyone with illegal drugs
Incarceration is thought of as a positive form of punishment, and negative form of punishment. The opinion varies with the type of person, and their experience from jail if they have gone. Most inmates while in prison will tell you it is a horrible place that should be gone. That would allow criminals to be free and that would let them cause harm to others or other illegal activities. Incarceration was not designed to be a paradise, it is a detention center for the bad, and meant for them to be punished. Without jails the world would be filled with even more evil, and would leave people in more danger than they already are.
Traditionally judges were allowed to weigh the facts of a case when determining sentencing, but since the passing of the mandatory sentencing laws judges no longer have any discretion in these matters. It was believed that the mandatory sentencing would catch the upper end of those in the drug trade and discourage others from starting to participate in it. Unfortunately it catches mostly lower level individuals and has not discouraged people from the use or selling of drugs, leaving judges caught with imposing penalties that many of them have come to resent. These penalties are stiff, mandated by Congress and are tied to the type and weight of the drug as well as if there was a firearm (legal or not) present, most of the entry level sentences are five to 10 years. Another problem with the mandatory sentencing is there are only two ways to reduce or avoid it. First is to implement another person or in some way provide “substantial assistance” to the government. The second way is a safety valve which has such a ...
Felman (2012) explains this by saying “in the last twenty-five years since the advent of mandatory sentences for drug offenses and the Sentencing Guidelines, the average federal sentence has roughly tripled in length” (p. 369). The development of these guidelines indicates that for the same crimes that individuals committed previously, they are now receiving longer sentences. Mandatory sentencing also suggests that no matter an individual’s circumstance, they will receive the same punishment as everyone else. Although this is a step towards the impartiality that the criminal justice system is constantly seeking, there are certain issues that have been found with what can be deemed as harsh, mandatory
The United States corrections system is a complicated system with many different ways of handling certain situations. There is not just one set criminal justice system that covers nationwide, each state is different but all follow the same set of laws and rules set forth by the United States Constitution. (Bureau Justice of Statistics, 2013). The state goes through many different sets of obligations before convicting a suspect.
The sentencing process is created by some of the legislative parties, who use their control to decide on the type of criminal punishment. The sentencing guidelines for the judges to go by can be different depending on the jurisdiction and can include different sentencing requirements such as “diversionary programs, fines, probation, intermediate sanctions, confinement in jail, incarceration in a state or federal prison, and the death penalty” (Siegel & Bartollas, 2011, p. 40). In some jurisdictions, the death penalty is not included as one of the punishments. Being sentenced is step one of the correction process and is in place to discourage repeat offenders (Siegel & Bartollas, 2011, p. 40). Depending on the crime committed, the offender can be sentenced to a consecutive sentence or a concurrent sentence.
Merica, Dan, Carol Cratty, and Jessica Yellin. "Eric Holder Seeks to Cut Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
I found that minimum mandatory sentencing does not reduce crime such as sentencing a lower level drug dealer to a mandatory sentence will not stop the drugs from getting to the street (Larkin & Bernick, 2014). They will just replace that dealer with a new dealer. I believe that the biggest reason that minimum mandatory sentencing does not work is that it is not cost effective to the court system or the correction system if shorter sentencings have the same effect as longer sentencings.
Some gang leaders will use their younger members to do the more criminal acts because their punishment when caught isn’t as severe as theirs may be when caught. Not only do gangs member think this way, but some juvenile believe they can do a tremendous amount of crimes because they will not go to jail or prison either. This is not always the case, although many juvenile courts do aim for rehabilitation over punishment, in some cases rehabilitation is not what is in the best interest of the child. A juvenile can be transferred from juvenile court to criminal court depending upon the severity of the crime. Juvenile court judges make the decision of whether a juvenile is transferred to criminal court. (Champion, 1992) There are different factors that play a part in the decision making of a transfer like prior criminal history, age, gender, ethnicity, and race. This paper will discuss what a transfer is and the reasons for transferring juveniles from juvenile court to criminal court. Then, the process and procedures of transferring a juvenile over to criminal court and the effects of being transferred will be expressed. Lastly,