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Pros and cons of mandatory sentencing
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Plea Bargains and Mandatory Sentencing I would like to take this time to explain my position on Plea Bargains and Mandatory Sentencing. I will show both pros and cons for each topic, as well as give you my personal brief on which one I support. There are two types of plea bargains : The first one is a charge bargain. When the prosecutor allows a defendant to "plead guilty to a lesser charge”, or to only some of the charges that have been filed against him. For example, a defendant charged with burglary may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to "attempted burglary". A defendant charged with Drunk Driving and Driving with License Suspended may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to just the drunk driving charge. The second plea bargain is when a defendant is told in advance what his sentence will be if he pleads guilty. This can help a prosecutor obtain a conviction if, for example, a defendant is facing serious charges and is afraid of being hit with the "maximum" sentence. Typically, sentence bargains can only be granted if they are approved by the trial judge. Many jurisdictions severely limit sentence bargaining. Sentence bargaining sometimes occurs in high profile cases where the prosecutor does not want to reduce the charges against the defendant, usually for fear of how the newspapers will react. A sentence bargain may allow the prosecutor to obtain a conviction to the most serious charge, while assuring the defendant of an a...
A plea bargain is compliance between a prosecutor and defendant in which the accused offender agrees to plead guilty in return for some compromise from the prosecutor. The New Jim Crow, explains how most Americans have no clue on how common it is for people to be prosecuted without proper legal representation and are sentenced to jail when innocent out of fear. Tens of thousands of poor people go to jail every year without ever talking to a lawyer that could possibly help them. Over four decades ago, the American Supreme Court ruled that low-income people who are accused of serious crimes are entitled to council, but thousands of people are processed through America’s courts annually with a low resource lawyer, or no lawyer at all. Sometimes
A plea bargain is determined good for someone based only on their facts and conditions of their case. A disadvantage of plea bargaining is actually admitting the guilt (Understanding). Plea bargains appear to only benefit the criminal because they ultimately receive a lesser punishment. A plea bargain might seem good now but it could have permanent impact on your life. An innocent person would most likely not want to plead guilty but could feel the pressure from lawyers to enter a plea just to avoid a lengthy and costly trial. Even if the innocent person accepts a plea with no jail time, they will still have the conviction on their record. I believe all cases should go to jury trail regardless of the time and cost because in all fairness it is the nest shot at finding the true criminal and issuing the appropriate punishment. Shamim Ebrahimi’s advice regarding plea bargains is, “Focus on the big picture, and make sure you are aware of your options and possible collateral consequences because, remember, plea bargains almost always require a defendant to plead guilty on the record, and more often than not that record will follow you around for the rest of your life”
The criminal justice system has been in place the United States for centuries. The system has endured many changes throughout the ages. The need for a checks and balances system has been a priority for just as long. Federal sentencing guidelines were created to help create equal punishments among offenders. Judges are given the power of sentencing and they are not immune to opinions, bias, and feelings. These guidelines are set in place to allow the judge to keep their power but keep them within a control group of equality. Although there are a lot of pros to sentencing guidelines there are also a lot of cons. Research has shown that sentencing guidelines have allowed the power to shift from judges to prosecutors and led to sentencing disparity based on sex, race, and social class.
De Luca, H., & Miller, T. J. (1991). Punishment vs. rehabilitation: A proposal for revising sentencing practices. Federal Probation, 55(3), 37.
Plea bargains are highly prevalent in the popular television series Law and Order. If a random episode is chosen, there is a high chance that lawyers in the show have offered a plea bargain. While many people would believe that media skews the public’s understanding of how often plea bargains occur, however, this is actually an appropriate representation. According to Heumann, approximately 10% of criminal cases actually continue on to trial (Heumann, 1975). Similarly, as stated by Menkel-Meadow, plea bargains are the reason why there may be congestion in the courts, but a low number of criminals are actually jailed (Menkel-Meadow, 2005).
Plea bargains are exceptionally normal in the American legal system, representing about 90% of all criminal cases. However, many countries do not allow plea bargains because they are being considered as unethical and immoral. A plea bargain comes with many pros and cons. Many people tend to take the plea deal thinking that they would decrease their sentencing not knowing that plea bargains are quite complicated and doesn 't simply rely on one 's guilt or innocence. Plea bargains are regularly alluded to as truly simply setting up a "shared affirmation" of the case 's qualities and shortcomings, and don 't
Although, in theory, plea-bargaining could potentially hinder the justice system and might offer leeway to criminals, in practice it helps the courts to operate in a more efficient manner. Given these points, the practice may have its deficiencies, however, the practice has space to for change and thus should removed because the justice system relies on plea-bargaining in order to
For decades, we have been made to believe that criminals are people who have done harm to our society, violating the laws of the land, and don 't deserve a second chance. They should be locked away, and the keys should throw away. Unfortunately, today, our world is full of crimes and our system is getting overcrowded with criminals. However, with recent laws like the plea bargain proofs that there is hope and a way out to every situation. A plea bargain can be defined as negotiations during a criminal trial between the prosecutor and the defendant which result in a more lenient sentence than would have been recommended with the original charge (Farlex). Some would say that the use, or abuse, of the plea bargain, allows criminals
Ensuring judges have such discretion fosters sound sentencing outcomes, respects our commitment to checks and balances and is better than a system skewed by mandatory minimums. A neutral judge should balance competing sentencing goals like retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation consistent with broad legislative direction. Sound legislative sentencing ranges are often broad because offenses are committed differently, and offenders are as diverse as the human condition. Mandatory minimums are one-size-fits-all dictates that can result in unfair sentences. Some claim mandatory minimums ensure serious offenses result in a minimum punishment in all cases. Is a 20-year sentence more appropriate than 10 years just because a drug defendant refused to plead guilty quickly or cooperate? Who should
attorneys and the attorneys for defendants in which is a guilty plea is offered in exchange for a
In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the largest comprehensive crime bill ever in the history of the United States. The features of the 1994 Crime Bill created sixty new federal crimes punishable by either death penalty or life sentencing as well as increase existing penalties for dozen of other offenses (Wilson, 1995). Another feature created by Congress was the statutory ‘Safety Valve’, which provided relief for first-time offenders facing mandatory sentencing in drug cases. The statute created five requirements a defendant must meet to qualify for the reduced sentence – no criminal history, not a drug conspiracy leader, no violence or firearm used, provide truthful pertinent information regarding the offense to the government prior to sentencing (Bronn, 2013; Wilson, 1995; 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)).
One of the many problems with the criminal justice system is the issue of mandatory sentencing. A mandatory sentence is when people convicted of certain crimes are punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison. Mandatory sentencing especially applies to crimes related to drugs, thus criminals who have gone to prison for rape and other violent crimes, often serve less time then drug dealers because of these mandatory laws. Many politicians view this as unfair because these harsh laws on drugs are not fixing the problem, rather they are costing tax payers millions of dollars and overpopulating prisons. To fix the problem law enforcers must convict and sentence the drug lords, rather they are harshly punishing addicts and “drug
...ct that in less serious crimes the defendant will plead guilty in order to receive a better deal.
served. Moreover, an accused person who accepts a guilty plea in the early stage of the case saves the justice system a lot of money. Many of the additional punishment that is imputed onto an accused person derived from contradictory claims that lead to lengthy trials. Therefore, to punish a defendant for wasting the courts’ resources, the justice system causes that defendant to spend an excessive amount of time behind bars at the expense of American tax dollars. This is a ludicrous paradoxical situation which is softened with a plea deal. When the plea bargain is adduced, the justice system is telling the defendant that he is in the wrong and his chances of defending himself are quite slim, therefore he needs to accept his guilt, hencing facing a lighter sentence whereupon we all benefit.
Sentencing is the imposition of a criminal sanction by a sentencing authority , such as a judge. Schmallger & Smykla, 2009, pg# 71) There are seven goals of sentencing including revenge, retribution, just deserts, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restoration. Revenge refers to a retaliation to some kind of assault and injury. Revenge can be a type of punishment for the criminal justice system. The jury, sometimes, basis there choices on emotions, facts and evidence. It is considered revenge in some cases because the victim's looks at it that way when they feel justice has been served. Retribution is a type of sentencing involving another form of retaliation. Retribution means "paying back" the offender for what he or she has done. ( Schmalleger & Smykla, 2009, pg# 73) The victim is not alone when it comes to being affected by the crime. Society is strongly affected by what a criminal does in whichever area he or she chooses. Retribution, in a good sense, would be if a coworker does her best as her job and her boss gave her a raise. This would be considered paying her back for her good deeds. As far as the criminal's heinous acts, retribution would more than likely be community service in the town were the crimes occurred. This form of sentencing gives a sort of relief to society