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Victims of the justice system research paper
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Criminals can come in many different shapes and sizes. For example, a criminal can be classified as being a murderer or a criminal could just simply have committed fraud in a business setting. There is a large diversity of criminals and it is the judge’s job to determine what is a fair punishment for a guilty verdict. Judge Ron Swanson, a federal judge for the Florida District Court of Appeal, deals with using cost-benefit analysis daily to determine what is fair for everyone involved. Before becoming a judge, Judge Swanson was a prosecutor coming out of law school in the University of Florida. As a prosecutor and a judge, Judge Swanson has always worked to bring justice for the victims, the defendant if he or she is innocent, and for the citizens
Swanson’s argument, he stated that regardless of the situation, he needed to go the extra mile so people can get justice. This means that even though it is costlier and time consuming, it is worth it in the end to pay for these extra costs and take any extra risks. According to Judge Swanson, it is his job to be sure that the victims he encounters receive their fair treatment by doing it with purpose, integrity, and understanding that it is their day to get what they want. This is by far Judge Swanson’s most persuasive argument because it dispels the economic difficulties of maintaining death row by basically stating that it is the right thing to do from an ethical perspective. According to Judge Swanson, if someone such as a parent had lost a loved one such as a child, then that parent deserves fair treatment by killing the criminal that murdered the child. It is the parent’s day and even though there is nothing that will bring their child back, the parent will be at least a little more at ease knowing that the criminal who committed the murder is going to be taken care of. Of course there could be counterarguments that contradict Swanson’s beliefs on the issue, however, that does not take away the fact that Judge Swanson was persuasive and was able to somewhat dispel the cost-benefit analysis that states that it is too costly to maintain death row. In the end, it is about establishing justice for everyone involved and according to Judge Swanson, justice is more important regardless of the issues that exist with the death
When trying to describe Dan Locallo as a compassionate judge one could use the Tony Cameron, the Larry Bates and the Frank Caruso Jr. criminal cases. Tony Cameron has been in jail for only five months. He was arrested for armed robbery in August of 1997. Cameron has an inner conflict that he keeps fighting-whether or not he wants to plead guilty or not guilty (Courtroom 302, 26). Tony Cameron realizes that if he wants to present his case to the judge he better make it a good one. Most offenders that visit the courthouse feel like...
Steve Bogira, a prizewinning writer, spent a year observing Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse. The author focuses on two main issues, the death penalty and innocent defendants who are getting convicted by the pressure of plea bargains, which will be the focus of this review. The book tells many different stories that are told by defendants, prosecutors, a judge, clerks, and jurors; all the people who are being affected and contributing to the miscarriage of justice in today’s courtrooms.
The death penalty, a subject that is often the cause of major controversy, has become an integral part of the southern justice system in recent years. The supporters and opponents of this issue have heatedly debated each other about whether or not the death penalty should be allowed. They back their arguments with moral, logical, and ethical appeals, as seen in the essays by Ed Koch and David Bruck. Although both authors are on opposite sides of the issue, they use the same ideas to back up their argument, while ignoring others that they don’t have evidence for. Koch and Bruck’s use of moral, logical, and ethical persuasion enhance both of their arguments and place a certain importance on the issue of the death penalty, making the readers come to the realization that it is more than just life and death, or right and wrong; there are so many implications that make the issue much more 3-dimensional. In dealing with politics and controversial issues such as capital punishment.
Garrett, Brandon. Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2011. 86. Print.
“ ….Judgments, right or wrong. This concern with concepts such as finality, jurisdiction, and the balance of powers may sound technical, lawyerly, and highly abstract. But so is the criminal justice system….Law must provide simple answers: innocence or guilt, freedom or imprisonment, life or death.” (Baude, 21).
Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weak and deficient. A common misconception of the death penalty is that the cost to execute a convicted criminal is cheaper than to place a convict in prison for life without parole. Due to the United States judicial system, the process of appeals, which is inevitable with cases involving death as the sentence, incurs an extreme cost and is very time consuming. The cost of a capital trial and execution can be two to six times greater than the amount of money needed to house and feed a prisoner for life. "Studies show incarceration costs roughly $20,000 per inmate per year ($800,000 if a person lives 40 years in prison). Research also shows a death-penalty ease costs roughly $2 million per execution," (Kaplan 2). Capital punishment is extremely expensive and depletes state governments of money that could be used for a wide range of programs that are beneficial. As Belolyn Wiliams-Harold, an author for the journal Black Enterprise, writes that county governments are typically responsible for the costs of prosecution and the costs of the criminal trial, including attorney's fees, and salaries for the members of the courtroom. All this money is spent at the expense of the corrections department and crime prevention programs, which are already is strapped for cash (Williams-Harlod 1). These "financial constraints," such as capital punishment, do not promote a healthy, commercial society, but actually cost and harm the public.
The governance of our present day public and social order co-exist within the present day individual. Attempts to recognize the essentiality of equality in hopes of achieving an imaginable notion of structure and order, has led evidence based practitioners such as Herbert Packer to approach crime and the criminal justice system through due process and crime control. A system where packer believed in which ones rights are not to be infringed defrauded or abused was to be considered to be the ideal for procedural fairness. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson pg 9 cjt To convict an individual because proper consideration was not taken will stir up social unrest rather then it’s initial intent, when he or she who has committed the crime is not punished for their doings can cause for a repetition and even collaboration with other’s for a similar or greater crime.
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).
Therefore, the argument supports the idea of plea-bargaining hurting the justice system. The thinking behind this is “since both the defense and prosecution parties depend on their power to negotiate a deal, instead of winning a trial, the justice system might suffer, ” (15 Serious Advantages and Disadvantages of Plea Bargaining, n.d.). Since plea-bargain relies on a mutual agreement, defendants plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence, which means that theoretically the system built on the thought of “ let the punishment fit the crime,” sacrifices punishment in exchange for less trials throughout the year. Although plea-bargaining might offer leeway for some offenders, the criticism fails to consider that plea-bargaining usually reduces sentences, while not completely eliminating sentences. Evidently, the practice still holds citizens accountable for their actions, while simultaneously punishing them. 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
Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2011). America’s courts and the criminal justice system (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
The nature and damage of white-collar crime can result in a variety of punishments for the offender. Some sanctions being time in prison, some being fines, and others being a combination of both. For example, Chalana McFarland who was a real estate attorney and was accused of fraud, money laundering and other crimes costing investors $20 million. She was charged with $12 million in restitution and thirty years in prison (Haury, 2012). Another example would be Bernie Madoff, who owned Madoff Securities, was involved in a Ponzi scheme. It is believed that investors lost $50 billion dollars. Curently Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in a prison in Butner, N.C (Haury, 2012). As these white-collar crime cases show, the costs of these crimes can be quite serve and earn life sentences as well as very hefty fines. Moreover, white-collar crimes have huge economic effects on victims, often causing life altering losses. Under consideration white-collar crimes are quite high-cost actions that hold large possible punishments and large ethical issues. In a research experiment done by Christian Seipel and Stefanie Eifler, a theory branching from rational choice theory was tested in relation to crime. The theory they explored was referred to as high- and low- cost theory. This theory discusses the factors that influence low cost crime and high cost crime. Low cost being defined as crimes that have low
One cannot deny that maintaining the prisoners with food, health care and other basic needs is expensive, but the long and complex judicial process makes the capital punishment more expensive. The cost of defense and prosecution of the prisoner with the death penalty is almost three times higher than that of non- death penalty prisoner. Each year, hundreds of million dollars are spent on the death penalty cases which could be better be used in providing support to the victims’ families. It also directly affects the economy of government. The cost of death penalty are different according to the states, California being the most expensive state. According to the fact sheet organized by Death Penalty Information Center, the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over four billion dollars since 1978 and if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life parole, it would result in an immediate savings of 170 million dollars per year, with the savings of 5 billion dollars over the next 20 years (“Costs of Death Penalty”, 2010). Besides that, the provision death penalty is discriminated against the poor because they cannot afford effective, high powered lawyers. Hundreds of people are put to death across the USA every year, the evidence suggests that the poorest are paying the highest price. A study found that the average cost of defending a
A judge loses this power consider motive because all criminals of the same crime are viewed as equal. By restricting a judge’s discretion, it creates injustice within the courts. Actions are based on their motives and a judge should have the ability to consider it when making a decision that can greatly impact another individual’s life. Therefore, truth in sentencing and the equal justice perspective need the discretion of a judge to justly establish a fair sentence that accounts for all aspects of the individual and their
The definition of justice and the means by which it must be distributed differ depending on an individual’s background, culture, and own personal morals. As a country of many individualistic citizens, the United States has always tried its best to protect, but not coddle, its people in this area. Therefore, the criminal justice history of the United States is quite extensive and diverse; with each introduction of a new era, more modern technologies and ideals are incorporated into government, all with American citizens’ best interests in mind.
“African-American males are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white males and 2.5 times more likely than Hispanic males. In 2013, almost 3 percent of black males were imprisoned compared to 0.5 percent of white males. America’s prisons and jails cost more than $80 billion annually – about equivalent to the budget of the federal Department of Education” (Eisen, 2015). After hearing McCleskey v. Kemp trial, the court is informed about the defendant’s background and criminal history; mitigating factors affecting culpability brought to the attention of the