CRIMINAL SENTENCING

Criminal Sentencing

Criminal Sentencing

Introduction

In the system, "common law" the sentencing took place after a defendant convicted of a crime. In the civil law, system and the sentencing phase of the sentencing often take place simultaneously. In the system, "common law" the sentence may be the result of a trial verdict or a guilty plea. For minor offenses, the punishment usually occurs immediately after the conviction, for more severe cases and / or complex, the judge will set a date for sentencing (Tonry, 2006).

In a civil law system, a guilty plea does not always trigger the end of the trial. Judges continue to gather corroborating evidence to find the truth. Practitioners of civil law often dismayed by the trend in the system "common law" to plead guilty to a crime that we did not commit, in order to shorten the criminal proceedings.

Discussion

Criminal sanction is considered having four or justifications objectives: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and retribution. A criminal sentence rarely imposed on a single justification. Instead, these justifications are always in the background, and notify the types and methods of conviction that a company can implement.

Deterrence - The penalties are intended to deter criminals to engage in further criminal activity. The sentences also have an effect on the general population Deter.

Neutralization - Incarceration removes violent individuals from the general society and protects against other crimes. This justification often used for serious crimes such as assault, murder or rape (Tonry & Frase, 2001).

Rehabilitation - A sentence may require the defendant guilty undertake certain activities to rehabilitate the individual and their reintegration into society prudent.

Retribution - Although controversial, the punishment is often justified as retribution of society against the defendant.

Deterrence

It is also known as "exemplary," "warning", "intimidation". This objective has a policy that a sentence must have the effect of convincing the individual that the commission of the act may have more negative consequences than positive for him. It often split into two: general deterrence, when the sentence intended as an example for all citizens who may be in a position, to commit the act in question, and certain deterrence (or "special", "individual"), when we limit ourselves to try to persuade a condemned not to repeat in the future. Another aspect of deterrence is the information. This is to send a message moral / normative establishing that the act is socially disapproved.

Deterrence today is experiencing a resurgence in popularity among some thinkers - who believed after the wave treatment of the sixties, in fact, "nothing worked" and it was better going back to Beccaria and classic and stick to exemplary (Reitz, 2003). Among politicians and citizens called "right" (more on this concept below), which suggests fighting fire with fire crime of punishment.

Rehabilitation

Also known as "resocialization", "rehabilitation", "reintegration", "reconciliation." This is a major goal "therapeutic", that is to say, it is to correct the offender, and thus to allow his return to society as soon as possible. In its pure form, it does so no account of the moral effect of the award, but sometimes ...