This is a pivotal part in terms of maintain the functioning of society and to ensure that people don’t go around breaking laws wherever and whenever they want. The criminal justice system is therefore a central part of society and without is society would quickly deteriorate into chaos. There are however a number of issues in the criminal justice system. Some of these issues include false convictions and bias within the courtroom. The tutorial discussion this week was essentially discussing how the system operates and some of the flaws within the system such as false convictions which come about through human error or in extreme cases racial bias (Alberto F. Alesina, Eliana La Ferrara, 2011).
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms. Crime is a type of deviance. Crime is the violation of a society’s formally enacted criminal law. Criminal deviance spans from minor traffic violations to sexual assault to murder. In the case of serious deviance, action may be brought by the criminal justice system – “a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law.” The key elements of the U.S. criminal justice system include police, courts, and the punishment of convicted offenders.
A Study of Juror and Jury Judgments in Civil Cases: Deciding Liability for Punitive Damages.” Law and Human Behavior. 22:287-314. Neubauer, David W. and Meinhold Stephen S. “Judicial Process: Law, Courts, and Politics in the United States.” Belmont, California: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2004. Oppenheimer, David B. 2003.
In these next few pages I will discuss due process and its origins. I will also explain how due process protects the accused against abuses by the federal government. The rights and privileges of a person accused of a crime have its beginnings from England’s writ of “Habeas Corpus”, Latin for “you have the body”. Habeas Corpus requires that a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention through our founding fathers framing of the Bill of Rights (Kelly, 2013). In our modern legal system these include the presumption of innocence, trial by jury, representation by counsel, prohibition against an unreasonable search and seizure and the right to a speedy trial (“U.S.
International criminal court: looking at both critics and defenders, examine the current activity of the ICC and determine whether or not it is doing its job effectively. If you think the ICC could be doing a better job, outline what you think it could do in terms of achieving international justice and accountability. In this research paper, I am going to first briefly explain what the International criminal court is, take on its activities, and later look at the critics and defenders of this court; though my main focus will be on the critics’ side. Lastly I will give my suggestions on how this court can be a better one, free of any political influence and biasness. The international criminal court or in short The ICC was created on July 1st, 2002 and it is based in The Hague, Netherlands; The ICC is the first permanent court with jurisdiction to try individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and, once defined aggression.
Nowadays, horrifying crimes are being committed by criminals and they are being punished for it. It has been believed that behind every crime there is a reason, which usually gets neglected. In the world of justice, reasons doesn’t matter, only thing that matters is whoever did the crime has to be punished and everyone should get justice. From the articles “How people turn monstrous” by Mark Buchanan and “Revisiting the Stanford prison experiment” by Philip G. Zimbardo, which means human behavior is forceful. The good people always get forced inherently into the bad situation.
The results, of the crime control model are wrongful convictions, being over-turned and this is a major downfall in the criminal justice system. On the other hand the due process model is more concerned with the structure and the efficiency of the law. The due process focuses on evidences and facts in a case and ensures that a person in innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. In addition the due process model goal is the prevention and the elimination of crimes within the criminal justice
Institutionalizing the notion of revenge and to have it be a goal that society pursues through the criminal justice system offends the ideals of many. This ethical dilemma is most apparent in the death penalty debate. Arguably, there is no real reason for inflicting the death penalty other than society's need for retribution, as incarcerating that same individual for a life sentence without the possibility of parole will effectively incapacitate them and protect society from his criminal behavior. But the desire for retaliation dates back to ancient times, where the Hammurabi Code essentially necessitated "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," which is reflected by the punitive goals of our modern criminal justice system. The ethical debate between those who view retribution as a natural goal of justice and those who feel that state-sanctioned revenge has no place in modern society will continue, particularly as it relates to the death penalty
The functionalist would argue that those who transgress are usually dealt with by the law and that order is restored. The conflict theorist would argue that the law enforcement system perpetuates the inequalities and would give the example of how many white-collar crimes go unpunished. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_8586125_compare-contrast-functionalist-conflict-theories.html#ixzz2iJlpn5zx Contrast the functionalist and conflict theories of crime. The functionalist would argue that those who transgress are usually dealt with by the law and that order is restored. The conflict theorist would argue that the law enforcement system perpetuates the inequalities and would give the example of how many white-collar crimes go unpunished.