Criminal Sentencing Purpose

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Criminal Sentencing purpose

There was once a Television show name “Berretta” and the show theme song said do not do crime if you cannot do the time. That is a true saying, one that should be on every criminal mind why they are committing a crime. Sentencing a criminal for crimes for which they have been convicted of is their due punishment according to the severity of the crime committed. The Courts have for centuries punished criminals according to the belief of the society in which the crime was committed.

The belief systems of a civilized society have often dictated the punishment in criminal procedures. In biblical days, the belief system called for stoning for violation of many of the Jewish people laws. In modern day societies, the term “sentence” is used to refer to punishment for crimes. Sentencing can be further defined as “the process by which a judge imposes punishment on a person convicted of a crime or crimes.” (Wallace & Roberson, 2008, p. 337, p. 339) Sentencing can also take several forms, some design to avoid jail or prison terms. The concepts that will be discussed are deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and retribution. The general purpose of criminal sentencing is to punishment the convicted criminal for the crimes in which they have committed. However, there are studies that state the intent of criminal sentencing does not always center on merely punishing the convicted criminal. Jo Dixon of New York University “states the formal legal theory of sentencing predict that sentencing is initially determined by legal variables; the substantive political theory predict that sentencing is determined by legal and social status variables.” (Dixo...

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...olume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: November Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=242575

Davenport, A.U. (2009). Basic criminal law: the constitution, procedure, and crimes (2nd ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Dixon, J., (1995). The Organizational Context of Criminal Sentencing The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 100, No. 5 (Mar. 1995), pp. 1157-11. The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2782274

Lin, T.Y., (2009). Public Interest in sentencing: Deterrence, Desert, or anything Singapore Journal of Legal Studies: Special Issue to commemorate its 50th Anniversary

Texas Offender Reentry Initiative. Retrieved December 01, 2010. From http://www.medc-tori.org

Wallace, H. & Roberson, C. (2008). Principles of criminal law (4th ed.). Boson: Pearson education.

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