Judge Wearing The Robe And Holding The Gavel

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Recommended: the purpose or philosophy behind sentencing

Sentencing Philosophies
When a judge or magistrate looks at the possibility of recidivism, they tend to lean towards a sentence structured around rehabilitation to help reduce the offender’s chance of committing crimes in the future. The decision of what type of sentence to impose and which one will work best for each individual criminal are things that come together before the court as a joint effort by many parties involved and not just the judge wearing the robe and holding the gavel. Each of the four main sentencing philosophies play a large roll in how the U.S. justice system works.
Rehabilitation
Usually police officers make the initial contact with a suspect after a crime has been committed. The officer’s report and the evidence collected makes the case which are sent to the prosecutor’s office and court. Once a suspect is found guilty or take a plea deal there is usually a pre-sentencing investigation (PSI) conducted. The PSI report normal contains items such as past criminal records, probation or parole history, pending cases, any gang affiliations, and personal background information. According the Michigan Department of Corrections “PSI reports are required by statute for all felony convictions and are used by judges when sentencing an offender.” (2015) Often victims have the opportunity to express the impact that the offender and the crimes against them have had on their lives, as well. During the sentencing portion of the case the judge receives all of this information to review and take into consideration when deciding the offender’s imposed sentence. In most cases a judge or magistrate will decide on which sentencing philosophy will work best in a case.
The judge will review all the information before reac...

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...not commit a crime again. The battle between helping too much or too little is often the case, when it comes to a stronger rehabilitation type sentence. But when we look at a retributive style sentence there are also many concerns of are we just throwing that person in jail without getting them the help they need.
The type of crime committed and the offender always need to be looked at in depth in any criminal case. Removing the racial disparity aspect of sentencing is something that will take time to overcome, but I feel can happen. There are structure and guidelines for sentencing, but judges have huge discretion when it comes to sentence they impose on an offender. Depending on the crime and the offender each sentencing option should be looked at. There is no right or wrong way here and each case should be based on the totality of circumstance surrounding it.

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