Sentencing Reform: What´s Sentencing Reform?

Retribution spurs up deterrence effects which not only reduces recidivism but also lowers down first-degree offense. According to Dr. Larry Siegel, Ph.D. in Criminal Justice of State University of New York (2009), deterrence theory implies a psychological process whereby individuals are deterred from committing criminal acts if they perceive legal sanctions as severe. In other word, deterrence effect can be seen as a natural psychological action after committing a crime. Given the opportunity to commit a criminal act, the person presumably weighs the costs and rewards of doing so in comparison to other behavioral options. The more the individual perceives legal sanctions as severe, the greater is the perceived cost of crime and thus the probability of deterrence (Dr. Kirk Williams, Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Arizona, 1987).

As the democratic view adheres to the nation’s longstanding history of immigration, the Republican party does not believe immigrants should be granted the same rights as any american citizen. They believe that these illegal immigrants bring with them drugs and crime as well as take jobs that should be held by US citizens, calling for their mass deportation. With crime at its lowest in the last 25 years, both the democratic party and republican party seek to further this societal improvement. To them, the best method of controlling crime is to administer tougher punishments for those who commit violent crimes as well as leaving the death penalty as an option for the most heinous offences.

Fortunately, as a population we can always evolve and we can start to study the rights of criminals and determine what punishment seems the most logical that doesn’t dehumanize all criminals. We can start by taking a look at where convictions and punishments started, and how people determined who could vote in the

One thing that could possibly help is that if they made drugs legal, we could easily help stop most of the issues between individuals. Everyday, people are sent to jail rather than being supported to get treatment. UNODC acknowledges the idea of being sent to treatment rather than jail, which is starting to become a mainstream heath care issue (167). People who consume these drugs on the daily basis could take notice in what they 're doing which makes them realize that it 's leading them in the wrong direction. If we could make this happen, the number of people being sent to jail can decrease.

If nobody puts a stop to the teenagers that are committing crimes than more and more teenagers are going to start committing crimes. When a teen doesnt get big punishment they believe it's okay to continue doing what they're doing. If you don't correct or point out they are doing something wrong then they will never fix it. Imagine living in a world with not so many teens committing crimes. It will be a better world to live in not only for the teens but also for the smaller kids they will have better role models.

This would remove the question that ask if one has been convicted of a felony in their past. Although, this does not remove the ability to check the criminal background of a potential employee it does place guidelines that would help someone with a criminal background gain desirable employment. These measures take into account many factors such as how long it has been since the crime occurred, and what type of crime for what type of employment one is seeking. Some states have gone even further and implemented time limits for example convictions for felonies in the last ten years, and misdemeanors in the last five years. All of which will increase the hiring pool and increase the chances of a felon from not becoming a repeat

Being that there was such a need to increase law enforcement and the amount of guards in the prison system there was a need to make sure there was enough funding to have enough prisons to avoid the possibility of overcrowding. The bill allocated $9.9 billion, including $7.9 billion to build state prisons for violent offenders, and $1.8 billion to states for jailing criminal illegal immigrant (US Department of Justic,1993). When hearing the conditions of the act one can presume the amount of crime taking place would decrease (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco& Firearms June,16,1996). During the late 1980’s there were many high-profile cases of violent crime that spread rapidly throughout the United States. One example includes The 101 California Street Shooting.

However, there are many that argue that the decriminalization of possession of drugs would redirect focus of the law enforcement system of any country to put more effort into arresting dealers and big time criminals, instead of arresting minor criminals for mere possession, and thus be more effective. It also has more focus on the drug user instead of drug lords which is a more humane approach as compared to the others. Decriminalisation then includes diversion programmes instead of incarceration. Decriminalisation also removes the stigma attached to a criminal conviction for the use of

The crime control model believes that punishments for crime should be strict and severe but also be quick. The purpose is to demonstrate to criminals that if they do commit a crime, it won’t be easy for them to get away without being punished. This model isn’t intend to scare people or criminals but it is intended to discourage criminal actions as it shows that the outcome for crimes is a severe punishment. The crime control model also has a goal to put cases through the system quickly rather than having them go to trial because it takes too much time and can also reduce the efficiency. This process also encourages the expansion of court powers if necessary.

The first thing the author says is that people will discuss a mass incarceration. There is a possibility of this happening because people, white people most likely, will feel safer knowing that these “threats” are put away. The second alternative is that because income inequality is growing, it will cause a bigger distance with society. “If the socially and economically disadvantaged portion of the population grows appreciably, and it likely will, those who live in underclass neighborhoods will experience more marginalization and stress, which will affect crime patterns”(Crutchfield). The last alternative is that nothing will truly change and other others will still make papers that will encourage the subculture of violence and poverty.

Which leaves them with the only option to commit crimes again. He would give judges the power to depart from mandatory minimums laws if they are on the best interest of the law. This is would be very beneficial for us since people make stupid mistakes sometimes and life in prison is way too severe. Also having a person sent to prison cost money, especially if they have serve a life sentence. He would restore voting rights of every non-violent

Informed policy needs to be created so the appropriate steps can be made to move from our current system of mass incarceration to a system that effectively rehabilitees offenders which results in lower crime rates. After all our criminal justice system was not established solely to incapacitate offenders, it should also aid in reducing recidivism. Rehabilitation, alternative sentencing, and mental health all used to be crucial components of the criminal justice system. Then our society saw a massive decrease in mental health facilities as well as a perceived increase in crime. Crime was perceived to have increased due to politicians and the federal government preying on society’s fear of crime to further their political campaigns and agendas.

During the 1980’s and 90’s, crime rates starting wavering around their highest rates that they have ever been. This raise in crime rates called for action to be put into place in order to compensate. One of the actions put in to place during this time was a change in sentencing law. Previously, judges were given huge discretion when it came to sentencing and incarceration rates had been dropping for a while. This directed the creation of federal sentencing guidelines.

In comparison to other countries around the world, America has the highest incarceration rate (Class Discussion). Yet still, crime remains at a constant state. Other countries, such as Germany and Norway, have low incarceration rates, low crimes rates, and prefer rehabilitative alternatives to incarceration (Class Discussion). The irony of America, is that for decades evidence has indicated a crime decrease, incarceration increase, and defects in the criminal justice systems effort to prevent reoffending. A benefiting factor of high incarceration rates is the increase of free labor from prisoners.

Today I called the Illinois Representative Michael J. Madigan office and received his answering machine. I left him a message asking him to please consider passing bills for sentencing reform legislation, such as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (SRCA), S.2123. I told him that I am a registered voter and it has come to my attention that the federal prison population has skyrocketed dramatically over the past 35 years and most of the people in the prisons are in for minimum drug sentences. I told him that while people are in prison they are losing income, job skills, and are typically unable to attend rehabilitation programs. All of these aspects make it extremely difficult for the people to obtain jobs or get on the right path once