Our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims and this should be altered. It’s time we put the emphasis of our criminal justice system back on protecting the victim rather that the accused. We need justice for current and past victims, longer sentences and the death penalty is the way to achieve this. Death sentence provides a deterrent for prisoners already serving a life sentence. Nothing is to stop people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment to kill in prison; to escape and kill or to kill when their life sentence (minimum of 15 years) has been
This is truly a bothersome idea because the capital punishment is irreversible. No matter how many precautions are made, there are always going to be mistakes because decisions are made by humans. If the mistake is acknowledged after the execution, then the state would have committed a crime that’s equivalent to the murder. Since the 1900's, at least 416 innocent people have been sentenced to death penalty in the name of justice. (Popular Misconceptions About the Death Penalty, n.d.).
Prisons are consistently overflowing with repeat offenders and minor criminals. In addition to repeat offenders and perpetrators of minor crimes clogging up the system, the cost of keeping a prisoner is astronomical compared to the author’s suggested form of punishment. However, I do see the need for prisons, or someplace comparable, to keep the most violent criminals out of society. I believe Moskos should have stated hard facts regarding the ineffectiveness of prisons and given pertinent details about the productive use of corporal punishment. I’m not sure there are any “appropriate” forms of punishment.
It also backs up my other sources with the same research results; by removing the sentencing discretion of judges, and replacing it with mandatory jail sentences, we are sending more offenders to prison instead of programs designed to rehabilitate. Information in this article also supports my argument that mandatory laws violate the Constitution. Taking power away from judges is a violation of the 10th amendment “separation of powers.” As a result, our prison population has quadrupled and is filled with the wrong people. Mandatory sentencing applies so broadly that they sweep minor criminals and drug users along with the major ones, “drug kingpins,” who are the real targets of the statutes. Bender, David L. “America’s Prisons Opposing Viewpoints”4thed.Minnesota.
Desmond LeSure Professor Bolton ENGL 1020 19 April 2012 “Is the Three-Strikes Law fair and ethical?” There are individuals who were known as habitual criminals who constantly repeated the cycle of committing a crime, getting arrested, and eventually getting released. In 1993, Americans noticed that this was very costly to the public because the process of arresting and trying these criminals was expensive. American tax payers were beginning to become concerned with this issue and wanted something to be done about habitual offenders. Society is pushing the issue that it was more logical to keep repeat criminals in jail and not release them to commit more crimes. Politicians listened to society and executed a law that would put an end to
This sentencing mechanism has certainly contributed to the increase in prison population. It has also placed harsher punishments that often times do not fit with the crime. Repeat offenders are getting sentenced to long prison terms for low priority crimes. “And if structured sentencing was designed to provide consistency in the type of sentences handed down for specific crimes, the habitual felon law does exactly the opposite, as the offender’s status as a “habitual felon” determines the sentence more so than the severity of the most recent felony”
RUNNING HEAD: THE ISSUES 1 The Issues of Overcrowding in Prisons By Barbarito Capote ENGL107-1203B English Composition 2 July 29, 2012 RUNNING HEAD: THE ISSUES 2 Outline: I. Intro a. Overcrowding in prisons a huge issue i. Not enough prisons to reduce overcrowding b. Solutions to prison overcrowding c. Prisons as an end result have suffered from overcrowding causing higher suicide rates as well as increased diseases, sharing of beds and toilets, etc. Because of this overcrowding of prisons is a big issue.
Today I’m going to be discussing whether capital punishment, more commonly known as the death penalty, should be abolished or kept and brought back to countries than no longer have it. So, capital punishment is the execution (or any other way of killing) of someone as punishment for a crime after a trial and being found guilty of that crime. It is usually only used as a punishment for serious crimes i.e. murder, rape etc. Capital Punishment is used in many countries such as Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Egypt, India, majority of the United States and several other countries as well.
The influx of prisoners poses issues such as gang rivalries, and violent confrontations, not only among the prisoners themselves but also between them and the prison guards. At Corcoran State Prison, on “gladiator days” officers forced rival gang members to fight, and shot them both for entertainment(Schlosser). In private Juvenile detention centers such as YSI facilities, staff often choose to not report most assaults and major fights to avoid scrutiny for violating their contracts and the rules of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Overcrowding also leads to inconveniences such as double-bunking, which urges aggression, violence, and stress-induced mental disorders. The incarceration system in the United States has inflicted much damage on societal well-being, caused by privatization of prisons, war on drugs, and overcrowding of prison cells.
Since the capital punishment is still carry on, many opponents and defenders of the death penalty appeal to the sanctity of life. However, the death penalty is not justified. This is because death penalty is not an effective crime deterrent, executed innocent people and it needs a higher cost to carry on. First of all, some opponents argue that death penalty can help deter crime and protect public. For instance, the criminal will think twice before killing for fear of receive the strongest punishment.