It is aimed at the criminals who are not deterred by imprisonment and those who are not open to rehabilitation efforts. It carries two main sentencing mandates intended to carry out two things: a two strikes provision and a three strikes provision (Franklin, 178). The two strikes provision, which comprises the second strikers, doubles the sentences for those convicted of any current crime if they already have one before conviction for a serious felony. The three strikes provision carries a life sentence and has a minimum of at least twenty five years in a state prison. If a person has two or more previous convictions for serious crimes, the three strikes provision applies for them.
His sentence is changed from manslaughter and he has now been sentenced to 18-20 years in prison for manslaughter, followed by four to five years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. (Ryan, 2013) During a trial, the evidence is again presented to a court of law or a jury. Being sentenced to Capital Punishment is very unlikely to happen for Burke, as the state of Massachusetts has abolished Capital Punishment and only uses it in very severe cases where the suspect is tried federally (McCarthy, 2014) instead of regionally, like the Boston Bomber Case. Burke most likely got this sentence, because he pleaded guilty, possibly after enough evidence was gathered to prove his guilt and thereby “has taken responsibility for shooting the victim, resulting in his death, over what appears to have been a dispute about money” (Boston.com, 2013) Burke is most likely to receive this sentence, because it is exactly the crime he committed. He committed manslaughter which was proven by the messages on the phone and apparently other evidence that has been found.
Would the death penalty be “cruel and unusual” if it typically were given to poor people and minorities, while higher ups or white people were given life sentences for similar crimes? Did such a double standard violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment? Decisions: The Court split 5-4 striking down the death penalty as it was currently applied in state criminal laws. The four newest members of the Burger Court opposed the decision, while the holdovers from the Warren Court comprised a divided majority. “The court held that the death penalty, as it was currently applied in the state criminal codes, violated the 8th Amendment and 14th Amendment rights of condemned persons”.
The juvenile court did make the decision to transfer his case, therefore; Stanford would be trialed as an adult under a state statute permitting such action as to offenders who are either charged with a class A felony, capital crime or anyone over the age of sixteen and charged with a felony. ( (Death Penalty in America,)Legal Studies 485, Spring 2003. Stanford was convicted of murder, first degree sodomy, first degree robbery, and receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to death and forty five years in prison. Stanford appealed this sentencing on the notion that his eight amendments protectipon against cruel and unusual punishment had been violated.
Three-Strikes Law Three-Strikes Law In 1994, a very controversial, “Three Strikes” law was first passed in the state of California. The law forces state courts to impose of life sentence upon anyone who has been convict3d of two or more criminal offenses. This law is immoral, unjust, faulty, and should not be allowed anywhere in the United States of America. The law is immoral because it is putting people who have committed small crimes in prision for double life sentences when the situation could be easily resolved with community service or even a few life years in jail. For example, there was a “man [who was] sentenced to prison for 25 years to life under the law for stealing a bottle of vitamins” (Murphy).
How Does Capital Punishment Affect the United States? We know that capital crime affects the United States but how does the punishment fit the crime and what are the affects of enforcing the punishment? These question leads into several questions at once, however, this will discussion will include the cost in dollars, both mental and psychological, and then the expectations as a deterrent to crime with the use of capital punishment. Putting a price on the deed in dollars by running figures of what it has cost then
Or were certain demographic areas and groups of people targeted as a whole in this war on drugs? As in any war, there are always two parties involved. In the war on drugs there are those whose job it is to enforce the laws and to protect the communities across this country, and there are those who are using, dealing or distributing drugs throughout the United States. The war on drugs in the United States has lasted now for over forty years, with an estimated cost of over $1 trillion dollars and has led to over 45 million arrests making the United States the world’s largest jailer. However, today drugs are more readily available and in a purer form, yet seem to be more cost effective to those who use (EugeneJarecki, 2013).
There are people who violate these laws every day in some way shape or form. The DEA have provided a chart as to how many laws have been violated. They are as follows; Source: BJS, Federal Justice Statistics 2006, Statistical Tables, NCJ 225711, May 2009. State court The State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program revealed that of persons charged with a felony drug offense in 2004 in the 75 most populous counties -- * 60% were released prior to case disposition * 35% were held on bail * 5% were denied bail Pretrial status of defendants charged with drug offenses, 1998-2004 | Pretrial status and type of release | 1998 | 2000 | 2004 | | | Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | Released | 68 | % | 64 | % | 60 | % | | Financial total | 33 | % | 31 | % | 32 | % | | | Surety bond | 23 | | 22 | | 24 |
After taken to trial, the prosecutor's case “consisted solely of his confession” to obtain a conviction. The Maricopa County Superior Court convicted Miranda of both rape and kidnapping and was then sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison. Miranda appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, claiming that “the police had unconstitutionally obtained his confession” as well as the absence of an attorney during the interrogation and should have been excluded from trial. The police officers involved admitted that they had not given Miranda any explanation of his rights. They argued, however, that because Miranda had been convicted of a crime in the past, he must have been aware of his rights.
Unit 9: Final Project Joe Sloppner CJ140: Introduction to Constitutional Law Instructor: Irene H. Gainer, R.N., J.D. June 17, 2009 In the case Roper v. Simmons (03-633) 543 U.S. 551 (2005), is where a 17 year old, Simmons had planned and committed capital murder. After turning 18 years old, he then was tried and convicted with and imposed sentenced to death (Findlaw, 2009). Simmons filed a petition for state post conviction relief saying that under the Eighth Amendment, it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute juveniles. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, it prohibits the execution of mentally retarded people.