Counseling Chapter 14 Homework Seriousness The Offense The Most Important Factor

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Chapter 14

Sentencing

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Distinguish between the five major sentencing philosophies.

2. Describe how the three branches of government are involved in sentencing.

4. Outline how the U.S. Supreme Court has both state and federal sentencing

guidelines.

6. List at least three major issues related to imprisonment as a sentence in the

United States.

8. Summarize the two U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the 1970s on capital

punishment that led to the bifurcated process for death penalty sentencing.

10. Define the concept of normal penalties and indicate the two most important

factors in determining normal penalties.

11. Distinguish between the concepts of sentencing disparities and discrimination.

LESSON PLAN

Correlated to PowerPoints

I. Why Do We Punish?

Learning Objective 1: Distinguish between the five major sentencing

philosophies.

A. No consensus exists on how the courts should punish the guilty, perhaps due

to the fact that five different philosophical principles guide sentencing in the

United States: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and

B. Retribution

i. The idea that offenders deserve punishment lies at the heart of retribution.

This philosophy dates back to the Babylonia Code of Hammurabi, which

relied on the principle of lex talionis.

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ii. Retribution focuses on past behavior and is based on strongly held moral

principles.

iii. A more recent and humane view of retribution evolved that focused on

deserved punishment, or just deserts. The just deserts approach to

retributive punishment is predicated on the notion of proportionality.

C. Deterrence

i. According to deterrence theory, the purpose of punishment is the

prevention of future crimes. Deterrence, however, does not propose to

change offenders—just deter them.

ii. Deterrence argues that the punishment should fit the criminal.

iii. Jeremy Bentham, 19th-century British lawyer, reformer, and

criminologist, articulated the idea that people seek to maximize pleasure

and minimize pain—a principle he referred to as the hedonistic calculus.

Under this utilitarian theory, the basic objective of punishment is to

discourage crime by making it painful.

iv. Deterrence theory suggests that the criminal justice system can effectuate

two types of deterrence: general and specific.

v. Much scholarly research has demonstrated that the effectiveness of law as

a deterrent is dependent on three primary factors: severity, certainty, and

celerity. Is it possible to implement punishment according to these three

primary factors in the real world?

D. Rehabilitation

i. Rehabilitation assumes that criminal behavior is the result of social or

psychological disorders and that the treatment of such disorders should be

the primary goal of corrections.

ii. The concept of rehabilitation dominated thinking about sentencing

throughout much of the 20th century, providing the intellectual linchpin

for important developments such as probation and parole, as well as the

concept of pretrial diversion.

iii. Empirical evidence of the effectiveness of rehabilitation has results in a

movement called evidence-based corrections.

E. Incapacitation

i. The assumption of incapacitation is that crime can be prevented if

criminals are physically restrained.

ii. The theory of isolating current or potential criminals differs from the

iii. Unlike rehabilitation, incapacitation has no intention of reforming the

offender.

iv. As a sentencing philosophy incapacitation suffers from important

limitations. It cannot provide any standards about how long a sentence

should be. Isolation without efforts directed toward rehabilitation may

Applying the incapacitation theory to the fullest would require the

building of many more prisons, at great expense.

F. Restoration

i. The restorative justice movement seeks to replace retribution with

restoration.

ii. Restorative justice is based on three distinct elements: (1) Crime is

primarily a conflict between individuals, resulting in injuries to victims,

communities, and offenders. Therefore, crime is only secondarily a

iii. Proponents of restorative justice reject retributive punishment because

they view vengeance as counterproductive.

iv. Similarly, they see the rehabilitative model as being too narrow—

targeting offenders but providing no healing for victims.

G. Competing Sentencing Philosophies

i. No one philosophy is adequate, but the various goals must be balanced.

Therefore, elements of each of these philosophies have been incorporated

into society’s efforts to control crime.

See Assignments 1 and 2

II. Who Should Decide the Sentence?

Learning Objective 2: Describe how the three branches of government are

involved in sentencing.

A. Legislative Sentencing Responsibility

i. Legislatures are initially responsible for creating sentencing options in the

criminal codes they enact. Legislatures specify terms of imprisonment in

two different ways: indeterminate and determinate sentences.

B. Judicial Sentencing Responsibility

i. Only a judge has the authority to choose among the sentencing options

provided by the legislature.

C. Executive Sentencing Responsibility

i. Sentences imposed by judges are typically carried out by officials of the

executive branch. Of particular importance is the impact of executive

officials on prison populations.

ii. How long an offender will be imprisoned depends not only on the length

of the sentence imposed by the judge, but also on the decisions made by

See Assignment 3

III. The Courtroom Work Group and Sentencing Decisions

A. Sentencing is a joint decision-making process. Although only judges possess

the legal authority to impose a sentence, other members of the courtroom

work group hold influence.

B. Probation Officers

i. Probation officers typically perform two or three critical functions in the

sentencing process: conducting the presentence investigation (PSI) prior

to sentencing, reporting the findings of that investigation to the court,

and, in some courts, making a sentencing recommendation to the judge.

C. Prosecutors

i. Prosecutors influence the sentencing decision in several important ways.

Prosecutors can limit the maximum penalty the judge may impose

D. Defense Attorneys

i. The defense attorney’s role in sentencing begins early in the case. Their

assessment of the likely sentence impacts a defendant’s decision about

whether to go to trial or enter a guilty plea. Defense attorneys may also

E. Judges

i. Courtroom work groups impose informal limits on how judges exercise

their formal legal authority to impose sentences, such as through plea

bargaining. Judges also have less knowledge of the details of the

defendant and the nature of the crime.

ii. Judges are the most experienced members of the courtroom team, so their

views carry more weight than those of relatively inexperienced

prosecutors or defense attorneys.

IV. Changing Sentencing Structures

Learning Objective 3: Recognize the main objective of changes in sentencing

structure beginning in the late 1960s and the major consequences of these

changes.

A. Law in Controversy: Reducing Judicial Discretion

i. The main objective of changes in sentencing structure beginning in the

late 1960s was a reduction in judicial discretion in sentencing.

B. Law on the Books: Variations of Determinate Sentencing Return

i. In response to criticisms of the rehabilitation model, with its emphasis on

indeterminate sentences and discretionary parole release, a number of

states returned to sentencing schemes intended to provide more

V. Structured Sentencing Schemes

Learning Objective 4: Outline how the U.S. Supreme Court has limited both

state and federal sentencing guidelines.

A. Presumptive Sentencing in the States

i. To reduce judicial discretion and sentencing disparities, some states opted

to put in place a series of presumptive sentences. Under this approach,

ii. Judges may legally impose a term different from the recommended term

only by finding aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

iii. Presumptive sentences do not take into account variations in offenders’

backgrounds.

iv. Presumptive sentencing was only adopted by seven states between 1975

and 2004.

B. State Sentencing Guidelines

i. Statewide sentencing guidelines are mentioned most frequently as the

procedures for ensuring fairness and appropriate severity in sentencing.

ii. Sentencing guidelines direct the judge to specific actions that should be

taken.

iii. Of the 21 states that adopted sentencing guidelines, 11 required judges to

sentence within the presumptive sentencing guidelines while 10 states

made judicial compliance with sentencing guidelines voluntary (Stemen

& Rengifo, 2011).

iv. State sentencing guidelines are best viewed as a continuum, ranging from

voluntary to mandatory (Kauder & Ostrom, 2008).

C. Federal Sentencing Guidelines

i. The legal and political factors leading to the creation of state sentencing

guidelines likewise led to the creation of federal sentencing guidelines,

which have become more visible and also more controversial than their

state counterparts.

ii. In 1984, Congress created the U.S. Sentencing Commission and charged

it with developing guidelines for sentencing federal offenders. These

standards became law in 1987.

iii. The Supreme Court upheld their legality in 1989 (Mistretta v. United

States), only to rule them unconstitutional in 2005 (United States v.

D. Law in Action: Diverse Impacts

i. Several studies investigated the impact of these sentencing schemes and

found that the impacts were diverse. Although the specific impacts of

ii. By themselves, structured sentencing schemes appear to have little

impact on overall incarceration rates (Stemen & Rengifo, 2011).

iii. In contrast, “determinate sentencing laws alone, through the abolition of

discretionary parole release, can lead to lower incarceration rates” since

they limit the ability of correctional officials to deny parole (Stemen &

VI. Increasing the Severity of the Penalty

Learning Objective 5: Explain the law in action perspective on researching the

impact of mandatory minimum sentences.

A. Law on the Books: Mandatory Minimum Sentences

i. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws is one method legislatures use to

increase the severity of sentencing.

ii. Although fewer than half the states have adopted determinate sentencing

laws, virtually all states and the federal government have enacted a

particular type of determinate sentencing law mandating minimum

sentences for certain offenses.

iii. In recent years, the most popular mandatory minimum laws are so-called

three strikes laws, which supposedly target violent offenders with

previous felony convictions.

iv. In addition, some states enacted so-called truth in sentencing laws, which

require offenders to serve a substantial portion of their prison term (often

85 percent) before release (Ditton & Wilson, 1999).

B. Law in Action: Nullification by Discretion

i. The more severe the penalty, the less likely it will be imposed when its

severity exceeds what is viewed as appropriate.

ii. Judicial discretion in sentencing is limited by a number of factors, so

C. Law in Controversy: Negative Side Effects

i. One reason legislators find raising penalties so attractive is that they

appear to be fighting crime without having to increase appropriations. It

is a policy apparently without costs; the public will be appeased without

the painful necessity of voting for higher taxes.

ii. However, a number of studies suggest that increasing the severity of the

punishment produces negative side effects. One negative side effect of

increasing the severity of punishments centers on the greater time, effort,

and money courts must expend.

iii. Critics are also concerned that mandatory minimum sentencing

legislation results in a rigid and inflexible overreaction to problems of

judicial discretion.

Media Tool

Read the article titled Are Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Cost-Effective?

See Assignment 4

VII. What Sentence Should Be Imposed?

Learning Objective 6: List at least three major issues related to imprisonment as

a sentence in the United States.

Learning Objective 7: Identify the major alternatives to imprisonment.

A. Imprisonment

i. Getting tough on criminals is popular, yet public opinion polls show that

(Spelman, 2009).

ii. Faced with swelling prison populations and federal court orders over

conditions of confinement, state legislatures have been faced with

spending enormous sums of money to build new prisons and upgrade

existing ones. Despite large expenditures, few states have been able to

build prisons fast enough to keep ahead of surging prison admissions.

iii. Some states have declared an emergency situation, thus triggering the

early release of certain types of prisoners. States that fail to take such

action face sanctions from federal judges.

iv. The long-standing political debate over sentencing has now given way to

the overriding reality of a severe shortage of prison cells.

B. Probation

i. Probation is the principal alternative to imprisonment and is the most

commonly used sanction in the United States.

ii. Unlike incarceration, probation is designed as a means of maintaining

control over offenders while permitting them to live in the community.

iii. Probation is significantly less expensive than imprisonment.

C. Fines

i. Fines are used extensively for traffic offenses and minor ordinance

violations, generating well over $1 billion annually for local governments

(Clear, Reisig, & Cole, 2019).

ii. Judges in the lower courts impose a fine alone or in combination with

other sanctions in about 86 percent of their cases.

iii. In the major trial courts, a fine, either alone or together with other

sanctions, is imposed in almost 45 percent of the cases.

D. Restitution

i. Restitution is the requirement that the offender provide reparation to the

victim for the harm caused by the criminal offense.

ii. Restitution efforts generally take one of two forms—direct restitution or

symbolic restitution.

E. Intermediate Sanctions

i. Concern is growing that the United States relies much too heavily on

imprisonment and probation.

ii. Prison is viewed as too harsh for many defendants, whereas high

caseloads often leave too many probationers without adequate

supervision.

iii. Intermediate sanctions are based on the concept of continuum of

sanctions—the range of punishments vary from low control to high

Class Discussion/Activity 1

What are the problems with incarceration as the primary sentence? What

alternatives would you recommend? What sentencing philosophy supports your

favorite alternative? How are those alternatives supposed by a sentencing

philosophy?

Write a two-page paper stating your position on this question and why.

Media Tool

Read the article titled 10 Ways to Reduce Prison Overcrowding and Save

Taxpayers Millions:

See Assignment 5

VIII. The Death Penalty

Learning Objective 8: Summarize the two U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the

1970s on capital punishment that led to the bifurcated process for death penalty

sentencing.

Learning Objective 9: Indicate how the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the

list of death-eligible cases and offenders.

36–37

A. Eighth Amendment Standards

i. Furman v. Georgia raised more questions than it answered, and state

legislatures attempted to write new capital punishment laws consistent

with the Eighth Amendment.

ii. By 1976, a total of 37 states had enacted new legislation designed to

avoid the arbitrary application of capital punishment. These laws took

two forms. Some states passed mandatory death penalty laws, which

iii. These new laws were tested in five companion cases, collectively known

as the death penalty cases (Gregg v. Georgia, 1976). A seven-justice

majority agreed that the death penalty did not constitute cruel and unusual

iv. If the death penalty is not imposed, the defendant is usually sentenced to

life imprisonment.

B. Death-Qualified Juries

i. One long-standing issue has been the exclusion of persons opposed to the

death penalty from juries in capital cases. Supreme Court decisions have

ii. Social scientific data support the notion that so-called death-qualified

juries differ from regular juries. Death-qualified jurors are

C. Narrowing Death-Eligible Cases

i. The Supreme Court has also placed important developmental limitations

on when the death penalty may be imposed both in terms of

chronological age and mental functioning.

ii. In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court ruled that evolving standards of

decency required that the that Eighth Amendment be interpreted as

barring the execution of all juvenile offenders who were younger than age

18 at the time of their offense.

D. Lengthy Appeals

i. In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Court held that the Eighth Amendment

bars persons with an IQ of 70 or lower from being executed.

E. Cost Concerns

i. After decades of debate over the morality, fairness, and effectiveness of

the death penalty, a major new concern has been voiced—cost.

ii. To assess how cost concerns might affect the death penalty, researchers

iii. An analysis of statistical data, however, showed a different pattern—the

wealthier the county, the greater the death penalty caseloads (Douglas &

Stockstill, 2008).

Class Discussion/Activity 2

Does your state have the death penalty? What kinds or types of murders are

eligible for the death penalty? If your state does not have the death penalty, did it

ever? If so, when did it stop?

Class Discussion/Activity 3

In what ways has the Supreme Court narrowed the cases that are death-eligible?

Do you think that the death penalty should be applicable to more cases? Less? Or

is it acceptable as it currently stands?

What If Scenario

What if, at age 21, you were convicted of capital murder and given two

punishment options: the death penalty, or incarceration at the state prison for the

rest of your life with no possibility of parole. What would you choose and why?

See Assignment 6

IX. Normal Penalties and Sentencing Decisions

Learning Objective 10: Define the concept of normal penalties and indicate the

two most important factors in determining normal penalties.

A. In seeking individualized sentences, courtroom work groups use normal

penalties. The normal sentences or “going rates” for typical sentences are not

used mechanically, but rather guide sentencing (Ulmer & Johnson, 2004)

based on several factors.

B. Seriousness of the Offense

i. The most important factor in setting normal penalties is the seriousness of

C. Prior Record

i. The next most important factor in sentencing is the defendant’s prior

D. Aggravating or Mitigating Circumstances

i. In passing sentence, judges and other members of the courtroom work

group consider not only the formal charge but also the way the crime was

E. Law in Controversy: Uncertainty and Public Opinion

i. There are uncertainties inherent in sentencing. These become particularly

important when public opinion is critical of the courts and sentencing.

Class Discussion/Activity 4

What are normal crimes? What are the most important factors in determining the

appropriate punishment for normal crimes?

What If Scenario

What if you were convicted of second-degree burglary and face either 13 months

in a state prison (you could be released after 4 months because of good time

credit and prison overcrowding) or 5 years on probation with a stipulation

requiring you to report to your probation officer at the probation headquarters 15

miles from your house once a week. Which sentence would you choose and why?

See Assignment 7

X. Differences in Sentencing Outcomes

Learning Objective 11: Distinguish between the concepts of sentencing

disparities and discrimination.

A. Imbalance Versus Discrimination

i. The criminal justice system reflects an imbalance in terms of the types of

people, but evidence of imbalance in outcomes is not proof of

discrimination.

B. Sentencing Disparities

i. The most commonly cited types of sentencing disparity involve

geography (variations across jurisdictions) and judicial backgrounds and

attitudes (variations among judges within the same jurisdiction).

C. Discrimination in Noncapital Sentencing

i. Numerous studies have probed the extent to which a defendant’s

attributes, such as economic status, sex, and race impact sentences. Some

studies find patterns of discrimination, and others do not.

45–48

ii. Research has examined discrimination under the headings of economic

status, gender, race in sentencing, and race in capital punishment.

iii. At several stages during the process, it is obvious that access to economic

resources makes a difference, with the poor receiving less-preferential

prison sentences.

v. Outcome differences based on economic status are readily apparent in

sentencing. Do these patterns indicate that courts discriminate against the

poor in sentencing, or are they the product of other, legally permissible,

factors? A number of studies yield conflicting and complex answers.

D. Discrimination and Capital Punishment

i. Marked racial differences in the application of the death penalty in the

South provide the most obvious historical evidence of racial

discrimination in sentencing. The executions in the South clearly show

major racial differences.

ii. Interestingly, many studies found that the most obvious factor—race of

the defendant—was not as important as the race of the offender in

Class Discussion/Activity 5

What is the difference between disparity and discrimination? Why is it difficult to

determine if discrimination exists in sentencing?

Write a two-page paper on the article you chose and how it relates to the issue of

racial disparity in sentencing.

Media Tool

Read one of the articles regarding racial disparities in prison on the Sentencing

Project website:

What If Scenario

What is you were responsible for investigating differences in sentencing

outcomes for minorities in your local courthouse? How would you determine if

these differences were the results of disparity or discrimination? What

information would you need to investigate this issue?

KEY TERMS

aggravating circumstances: In passing sentences, judges and other members of the

courtroom consider not only the formal charge but also the way the crime was

49–50

committed; aggravating circumstances that lead to a higher penalty include the use of a

weapon and personal injury to the victim.

bifurcated trial: There are two phases to death penalty trials: The jury must first only

consider the issue of innocence or guilt. Next, if they unanimously find the defendant

guilty, they reconvene, consider aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and then decide

whether to impose the death penalty.

boot camp: Shock incarceration in which offenders serve a short sentencing including a

rigorous paramilitary regimen designed to develop respect for authority.

capital offenses: Any crime punishable by death.

certainty of punishment: A core concept of deterrence theory that posits that the more

certain it is that an offender will be caught, convicted, and punished, the less likely

would-be offenders are to violate the law.

community service: A potential sentence based on the theory of symbolic restitution

which requires a certain number of hours of free labor in some public service such as

street cleaning or hospital volunteer work.

day fines: Fines set at amounts reflecting the gravity of the offense but also taking into

account the financial means of the offender.

death-eligible: Crimes that are punishable by death.

death penalty: Capital punishment, or executions by the state for death-eligible crimes.

deterrence theory: The view that sure and swift punishment will discourage others from

similar illegal acts.

direct restitution: The defendant pays money directly to the victim of the crime.

discrimination: Illegitimate influences in the sentencing process based on the

characteristics of the defendants.

evidence-based corrections: The process of basing correction policies on empirical

evidence produced by evaluation studies of the effectiveness of correction interventions.

expiation: Retributionist thinking based on atonement for sin through deserved suffering

rather than for the purpose of revenge.

fine: A sum of money to be paid to the state by a convicted person as punishment for an

offense.

Furman v. Georgia: Supreme Court ruling that statutes leaving arbitrary and

discriminatory discretion to juries in imposing death sentences are in violation of the

Eighth Amendment.

general deterrence: One of two goals of the deterrence theory, which proposes that the

threat of criminal punishment will prevent the general population from engaging in the

proscribed conduct.

hedonistic calculus: Jeremy Bentham’s theory that human behavior is governed by

individual calculation: People seek to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.

home detention: Confines offenders to their homes under specific terms and conditions.

imprisonment: Placing a person in a prison, jail, or similar correctional facility as

punishment for committing a crime.

incapacitation: Sentencing philosophy that stresses crime prevention through isolating

wrongdoers from society.

indeterminate sentences: A sentence that has both a minimum and a maximum term of

imprisonment, the actual length to be determined by a parole board.

intensive supervision probation: Probation which involves strict reporting, with the

offender required to meet with a probation officer briefly every day, targeting offenders

most likely to be facing imprisonment for the next violation.

mandatory minimum sentencing: Minimum required penalty specified for a certain

crime.

mitigating factors: These are circumstances that may reduce the sentence, including lack

of mental capacity and role in the crime. One of the most important mitigating factors is

the perceived social stability of the defendant.

normal penalties: Norms for proper sentencing based on the crime committed and the

defendant’s prior record.

presentence investigation (PSI): Investigation by a probation department into

circumstances surrounding a crime in order to help judges make appropriate sentencing

decisions.

presumptive sentences: A required structured sentencing system that provides a single

recommended prison term within a wider statutory sentence range for each felony

offense, with the recommended term based solely on the offense committed.

pretrial diversion: An alternative to prosecution that seeks to keep certain offenders

from traditional criminal justice processing into programs of supervision and

rehabilitative services.

probation: Punishment for a crime that allows the offender to remain in the community

without incarceration but subject to certain conditions.

restitution: To restore or to make good on something—for example, to return or pay for

a stolen item.

restoration: The philosophy of the restorative justice movement. The principle aim of

the criminal justice system should be to repair the injuries caused by crime.

retribution: A concept that implies the payment of a debt to society and thus the

expiration of one’s offense.

selective incapacitation: Sentencing philosophy that stresses targeting dangerous

offenders for lengthy prison sentences.

sentencing guidelines: Recommended sentences based on the severity of the crime and

the defendant’s prior record in an attempt to ensure fair and consistent sentencing.

severity of punishment: As it relates to classical deterrence theory it is concerned with

how severe the punishment is, postulating that the more severe, the less likely the actor is

structured sentencing: Sentencing schemes targeting sentencing decisions by judges

(removing judicial discretion).

symbolic restitution: The defendant performs community service.

LECTURE NOTES

There are five major philosophies for sentencing offenders. They include retribution,

incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. Retribution seeks to punish

offenders in equal proportion to the crime they committed; this is often known as “eye for

an eye.” Incapacitation is aimed at removing offenders from the community (putting

them in a confined place). Rehabilitation takes the perspective that criminal behavior is

the result of social or psychological disorders and treatment should be the goal of

corrections. Restoration attempts to promote victim’s healing. Deterrence focuses on both

the general and the specific, meaning one focuses on a generalization of our population

whereas the other focuses on the deterrence of an individual.

The three branches of government all view the concept of sentencing in different

manners, thus leading to new reforms. The legislative branch is responsible for creating

There are many options as to what sentence to impose. They include imprisonment,

probation, fines, restitution, intermediate sanctions, and the death penalty. All are used to

punish varying degrees of criminal activity and include the opportunity to determine if

the offender’s past criminal history will affect the sentence. The most commonly used

influence the sentencing decision of a defendant. They include the probation officer, the

prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the judge. Although the judge is by far the most

experienced person in the group, he/she has a small amount of influence over cases. The

probation officer handles the supervision and PSI of an offender. The prosecutor is able

Penalties and sentencing decisions are a two-part process: First is the determination of

whether to grant probation or incarceration; second is the length of the sentence. The two

most important factors in sentencing are the seriousness of the offense and prior record of

the defendant. Other factors include the possibility of rehabilitation, the need to protect

the public, the demands for retribution, and the deterrent value in the sentence.

Additionally, judges take into consideration any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

Evidence indicates that discrimination in capital punishment cases still exists despite the

protections provided by Gregg v. Georgia (1976). However, legal factors have been

found to be at work in sentencing outcomes in capital punishment cases. The prior

relationship of the victim and offender was found to be important, with stranger victims

being sentenced more harshly. Discuss with student why they believe the prior

relationship matters. What are some possible reasons for these results?

Sentencing guidelines are used as a guide by judges in many states to maintain integrity

within the justice system. These guidelines were created with the concept of certainty and

consistency in sentencing. There are both state and federal guidelines, both of which

POSSIBLE DISCUSSION POINTS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The problems with incarceration include overcrowding, conditions of confinement,

2. N/A

3. The Supreme Court has limited the death penalty primarily to homicide cases (still

unknown regarding treason). The Court has excluded rape (including child rape),

4. The concept of normal crimes refers to the group norms about the typical manner in

which crimes are committed and the typical characteristics of defendants who commit

5. Disparity refers to inconsistencies in sentencing; the decision-making process is the

principal topic of interest. Discrimination refers to illegitimate influences on the

ASSIGNMENTS

1. “Restoration”

• Restorative Justice website

• Assignment: Have students read the information on restorative justice online.

What countries use restorative justice? Are there any crimes for which

restorative justice is not appropriate? What is RJ city and where is it?

2. “Crime Solutions.gov”

• Office of Justice Programs website

• Assignment: Have students go to the link and identify a program that they

would recommend as an intermediate sanction. Why would they recommend

the program, and what sentencing philosophy does it fit?

3. “How Does the Federal Government Run Its Prisons?”

• Bureau of Prisons website

• Assignment: Have students research the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website.

Students should identify the ways in which the BOP is involved in federal

sentences.

LO2

4. “Crucial Pros and Cons of Three Strikes Laws”

website

• Assignment: Have students read the information available on the NLCATP

website. What are the pros and cons that the website lists regarding three

strike laws? Do you agree with the argument(s) the website makes? Why or

why not?

5. Create a list of service programs you would implement in your community in which

6. Research your state’s death row inmate population. Choose one inmate to research

7. Research the use of mitigation videos for defendants. What is the current status of

such technology? Do you agree with the use of these videos? Why or why not?