Crime and Punishment in the United States
In the Bible, crime is called sin and harsh punishments are prescribed for committing them. In our society, crime is defined as a violation of criminal law, so no matter how heinous an act might be it is not a crime unless the criminal law has listed it and provided a punishment for it (Coleman, 322). There are many criminal laws on the books today that we might consider ridiculous, but at some point in history they must have made sense to lawmakers. Crime and punishment standards evolve over time and change according to the society and culture in which one lives.
In colonial times, laws were based on a theocratic system of justice so many crimes were derived from the Bible or were religion related. It was a crime not to attend church whenever it was in session and an example of the crime “profaning the Sabbath” “by lewd and unseemly behavior” was committed by a ship’s captain who kissed his wife in public when he returned, on a Sunday, from three years at sea. Secular crimes included lying, idleness, general lewdness, and bad behavior. Sex was a concern of the colonists and virtually any act outside of the narrow parameters set forth in the Bible was outlawed (History.org).
In the 21st Century, there are many categories of crime, i.e., white collar crime, violent crime, property crime, and drug crime. White collar crime encompasses a broad definition, but basically boils down to lying, cheating, and stealing (www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar/whitecollarcrime). The term “white collar crime” was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 in reference to crimes perpetrated by people in higher status occupations in relation to their professions (NIBRS). ...
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...on (The World’s Warden). Our judicial system still allows for the death penalty, but now it’s done behind closed doors instead of in the public square and in a more genteel manner. The death row population has likewise exploded with 3,173 people under sentence of death in 2009 compared with 692 in 1980 and 131 in 1953.
Even though crime rates have been dropping for the last decade, the prison population is doing just the opposite which puts a huge fiscal burden on the federal and state governments. The sentencing structure should be changed to allow for community service or some form of punishment other than incarceration for lesser offenses and non-violent offenders. The money spent on jailing people who are not a real threat to society could be better spent on schools and social programs that would have a chance of preventing crime in the first place.
In colonial America, the court structure was quite different from that of their mother country, Great Britain. The system was a triangle of overlapping courts and common law. Common law was largely influenced by the moral code from the King James Version of the Bible, also known as moral law. In effect, these early American societies were theocratic and autocratic containing religious leaders, as well as magistrates. Sometimes these men were even one and the same. The criminal acts in colonial America were actually very similar to the crime prevalent in our society today. However, certain infractions were taken more seriously. Through the documents provided, we get a look at different crimes and their subsequent punishments in colonial
New Englanders actually took religion a little too seriously. In the 1680’s and 1690’s Witch trials were taken place, especially in Salem Massachusetts. Women and some men were killed after being suspected of witchcraft until 1692. The religion bracket this happened in was the Puritans were Calvinists with very strict views about society.
The Puritans who were seeking religious freedom were the first to affect New England religiously. Therefore, religion was heavily influential in the New England colonies. This area was strictly Calvinist, and there was little to no tolerance for any other religion. This homogeneity allowed for a rigorous sense of local order. The church was an equally-important partner with town governance in preserving social order (Church and State were not separate!) In every colony except for Rhode Island, law required everyone to attend worship services on the Sabbath and every taxpayer to contribute to the support of the
trial and others like it. The Puritans felt they would all be punished by God, not
The criminal justice system has been evolving since the first colonists came to America. At first, the colonists used a criminal justice system that mirrored those in England, France, and Holland. Slowly the French and Dutch influences faded away leaving what was considered the English common law system. The common law system was nothing more than a set of rules used to solve problems within the communities. This system was not based on laws or codes, but simply that of previous decisions handed down by judges. Although rudimentary, this common law system did make the distinction between misdemeanors and the more serious crimes known as felonies.
A crime is an action against the law of God, regardless of its existence/non-existence in the State law books
White collar crime is a term created by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 that refers to crimes committed by people of higher social status, companies, and the government according to the book “White-Collar Crime in a Nutshell” by Ellen Podgor and Jerold Israel. White collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes committed in order to have a financial-gain (Podgor and Israel 3). A very well known white collar crime that has even been taught in many history classes is the Watergate scandal. This is a white collar crime that was committed by government authorities. Watergate was a crime that shocked the nation.
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones” (Nelson Mandela, 1994). The United States of America has more people behind bars than any other country on the planet. The prisons are at over double capacity. It cost a lot of money to house prisoners each year. A large number of the prisoners are there because of drug related offenses. There are prisoners who have been sent to prison for life for marijuana related drug offenses. Many prisoners have been exonerated after spending many years behind bars due to the corruption in our legal system. 32 States in United States of America still execute prisoners even though there is no evidence to suggest that capital punishment is a deterrent. Prison reform is needed in America starting at the legal system and then ending the death penalty.
White-collar crime is the financially motivated illegal acts that are committed by the middle and upper class through their legitimate business or government activities. This form of crime was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Linden, 2016). Crime has often been associated with the lower class due to economic reasons. However, Sutherland stressed that the Criminal Justice System needed to acknowledge illegal business activity as crime due to the repercussions they caused and the damage they can cause to society (Linden, 2016). Crime was prevalently thought to only be
White collar and corporate crimes are crimes that many people do not associate with criminal activity. Yet the cost to the country due to corporate and white collar crime far exceeds that of “street” crime and benefit fraud. White collar and corporate crimes refer to crimes that take place within a business or institution and include everything from Tax fraud to health and safety breaches.
Overcrowding in our state and federal jails today has become a big issue. Back in the 20th century, prison rates in the U.S were fairly low. During the years later due to economic and political factors, that rate began to rise. According to the Bureau of justice statistics, the amount of people in prison went from 139 per 100,000 inmates to 502 per 100,000 inmates from 1980 to 2009. That is nearly 261%. Over 2.1 million Americans are incarcerated and 7.2 million are either incarcerated or under parole. According to these statistics, the U.S has 25% of the world’s prisoners. (Rick Wilson pg.1) Our prison systems simply have too many people. To try and help fix this problem, there needs to be shorter sentences for smaller crimes. Based on the many people in jail at the moment, funding for prison has dropped tremendously.
Avoiding punishment is futile. Whether in the form of proper trials or through guilt, every person will come face to face with the consequences of their actions. Avoiding suffering only causes it to intensify. This is mainly demonstrated through Svidrigailov and Raskolnikov in the end of Crime and Punishment. Both men had been eluding their various torments and they realize the vanity of their avoidance after receiving crushing mental blows. Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov realize that the time has come to recognize suffering and responsibility for previous actions.
A look into the public’s perception on whether the penalties given are harsh enough for white collar criminals since most types of crimes have a set of standard penalties for those convicted. A standard set of penalties needs to be looked at for white collar crimes to help in eliminating the criminal behavior and saving society billions of dollars a year. Perception of Penalties White collar crime is viewed as non-violent and treated differently than other types of crimes; some that are even violent in nature. In general, personal and public perceptions can vary from one individual to another. “A recent survey conducted by the National White Collar Crime Center (NWCCC) confirms that the public considers certain white collar crimes as more serious than some street crimes, according to Drs.
In the twentieth century, White Collar and Organized Crimes have attracted the attention of the U.S. Criminal Justice System due to the greater cost to society than most normal street crime. Even with the new attention by the Criminal Justice System, both are still pretty unknown to the general public. Although we know it occurs, due to the lack of coverage and information, society does not realize the extent of these crimes or the impact. White Collar and Organized is generally crime committed by someone that is considered respectable and has a high social status. The crimes committed usually consist of fraud, insider trading, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft or forgery. One person would not normally commit all of these but likely one or the other.
Fraud and white-collar crime are common forms of crimes that people commit in various aspects and positions in the corporate world. Fraud and white-collar crimes have similar meaning as they refer to the non-violent crimes that people commit with the basic objective of gaining money using illegal means. The cases of white-collar crimes have been increasing exponentially in the 21st century due to the advent of technology because fraudsters apply technological tools in cheating, swindling, embezzling, and defrauding people or organizations. White-collar crime is a complex issue in society because its occurrence is dependent on many factors such as organizational structure, organization culture, and personality traits. Thus, the literature review examines how organizational structure, organizational culture, and personality traits contribute to the occurrence of white-collar crimes.