Purposes of Sentencing
This sentencing philosophy is designed to prevent a specific offender from committing a crime by making the punishment severe enough that they won't want to repeat the offense.
What is specific deterrence?
A type of sentence where the judge sets a fixed period of time (e.g., exactly 5 years) that cannot be altered by a parole board.
What is a determinate sentencing?
The primary and most common method of execution utilized in the United States today.
What is lethal injection?
A written or oral statement given by the crime victim or their family during sentencing to describe the physical, emotional, and financial impact of the offense.
What is a victim impact statement?
The most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States, which allows an offender to serve their time in the community under supervision rather than going to prison.
What is probation?
Often Summarized as "an eye for an eye," this goal of sentencing seeks justice by ensuring the punishment fits the crime based on purely on "just deserts".
What is retribution?
This traditional sentencing structure sets a range of years (e.g., 5 to 10 years), leaving the actual release date up to a parole board's assessment of rehabilitation.
What is indeterminate sentence?
The required two-part trial process for capital cases, consisting of a guilt phase and a separate sentencing phase.
What is a bifurcated trial?
This 2004 federal legislation granted victims explicit rights in federal criminal cases, including the right to be reasonably protected and heard at sentencing.
What is the Crime Victims' Rights Act?
The conditional, early release of an inmate from a prison facility to serve the remainder of their sentence under community supervision.
What is parole?
This approach aims to prevent future crime by locking up or physically restraining offenders, separating them from the community.
What is incapacitation?
Days or weeks subtracted from a prisoner's sentence as a reward for good behavior and compliance with prison rules.
What is good time (or good time reductions)?
Facts or situations about the crime or the offender (like a history of childhood abuse or showing remorse) that may convince a jury to choose life imprisonment over death.
What are mitigating circumstances?
This term describes a situation where similar offenders who commit similar crimes receive noticeably different punishments from the courts.
What is sentencing disparity?
A sentencing alternative that falls between regular probation and standard prison, which can include electronic monitoring, house arrest, or boot camps.
What are intermediate sanctions?
This philosophy views criminal behavior as a treatable condition and attempts to reform the offender through counseling, education, or job training.
What is rehabilitation?
Legislatively mandated fixed prison terms for specific crimes (often drug offenses), removing a judge's ability to use discretion.
What are mandatory minimum sentences?
Factors that increase the severity or cruelty of a crime (such as killing a police officer or torturing a victim), which are necessary to justify a death sentence.
What are aggravating circumstances?
An unconstitutional practice where sentencing differences are driven by illegitimate factors such as the offender’s race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
What is sentencing discrimination?
A specialized court program (such as drug courts or veterans courts) that uses a team approach to address the underlying issues causing an offender's criminal behavior.
What is a problem-solving court?
Rather than focusing solely on punishment, this relatively new approach aims to heal the community and repair the harm done to the victim and relationships.
What is restorative justice?
Commonly known as "three-strikes laws," these statutes mandate significantly harsher, often life sentences for repeat, habitual offenders.
What are habitual offender laws?
Organizations like this one use modern DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions, proving that innocent people have been sentenced to death row.
What is the Innocence Project?
Voluntary or mandatory charts created by commissions to help judges calculate standardized sentences based on offense severity and prior criminal history.
What are sentencing guidelines?
The process that occurs when an offender violates the rules of their probation or parole, resulting in a hearing that could send them to jail or prison.
What is revocation?