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
According to a project run by The Huffington Post, 40% of juvenile offenders sent to private prisons on account of drug related crimes are arrested and convicted of harsher crimes in less than a year from their release (Kirkham). Moreover, the concept of combating drugs with the threat of imprisonment is counterproductive. Imprisoning low level drug-dealers for long periods of time creates a gaping void in the market, quickly replaced by desperate individuals wanting to generate an income, and the number of potential “criminals” skyrockets. Thus, by locking away non-violent offenders with such long sentences, the incarceration boom is being promoted, and wrecking societal
Instead of just throwing criminals away and forgetting about them, a quick glance at any academic article or research studies on this subject makes it painfully clear what needs to be done. More focus must be put on rehabilitation for those willing to be helped rather than blind punishment doled out indiscriminately toward all, and though chemical castration is not a perfect catch-all solution for every sex offender, it's a start. With overall general reduction in recidivism rates in nearly all studies conducted, having it as an option for rehabilitation is a much needed positive step in not only understanding and fixing our recidivism problems regarding sex offenders, but alsop towards the pursuit of justice in our society as a
With the increasing re-offending rate in recent years, it is a fundamental importance to understand those factors affecting the people to commit sexual crimes and the reasons of the reoffending. The second part is to evaluate the most commonly used sentence which imposed on the sexual offender on the aspect of rehabilitation. In this research, secondary resources and data it mainly used to examine the sentencing system on the sexual offences, some of other countries' work is also cited out as reference for the research. The existing sentencing system is obviously incompleteness that the reoffending rate of sexual crimes is high and devastating. Therefore, recommendations are also made in relation to the factors of this issue.
One in every 100 adults in the United States is incarcerated according to the PCS. The Pew Center on the States (PCS) conducts credible research and analyzes states’ experiences to determine what works and what does not work. Overcrowding has been a problem in the United States for many years. The government has tried different ways to fix it, but it has steadily gotten worse. Overcrowding has become a major issue in the United States mainly because nonviolent drug addicted offenders are repeating behaviors and ending up in jail.
However it has recently came to question of whether this perception of dangerousness is supported. Is it true that once a sex offender always a sex offender? In this paper I will discuss the evidence about the commonness and nature of sexual offending, characteristics of sex offenders, recidivism rates among different kinds of sex offenders and the support of treatment programs. In most studies the sexual offenders term can be broken down into 3 different classifications. The first group is sexual offenders that commit crimes of sexual violence against adults.
Mental illnesses also maybe a reason. Psychiatric disorders are sometimes associated with domestic violence like borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, among others. Social theories of domestic violence looks at the external factors in the offenders environment, such as family structure, stress, social learning & includes rational choice theories. The social learning theory could be a reason for domestic violence. The social learning theory(slt) believes that all behavior is learnt form experience(nurture) but we also learn through observation.
Naming Sex Offenders More and more controversy arises every year over whether to make sex offenders names public. The question lurks in peoples’ minds are sex offenders really and truly rehabilitated or are they just simply claiming to be reformed? The answer to that question is that 89 percent of sex offenders repeat their offense after completing rehabilitation or being chemically castrated. Every state has a community notification system in place to alert the community of sex offender registrations. According to Appelbaum, “Most identified sex offenders reside in the community, having completed their prison terms or having been placed directly on probation without incarceration”.
There are many theories relating to deviance and crime with each theory illustrating a different aspect of the procedure by which people break rules and are classed as deviants or criminals. (New texts pg 138) which highlights the problems in defining crime or deviance. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRIME AND DEVIANCE Many believe crime and deviance has developed on separate tracks over the years as criminologist serve only for legality, crime and crime-related phenomena. The study of deviance however serves for a wider range of behaviours that are not necessarily illegal for example suicide, alcoholism, homosexuality, mentally disordered behaviours. (Bader et al) The main difference between crime and deviance is deviant behaviour is when a social norm has been broken whereas a crime is where a formal and social norm is broken.
A victim of rape (primary victimisation), for example, may be subjected to victim blaming and ostracism as the result of the attack; those who become disabled (primary victimisation) may be subjected to non-accommodation, medicalization, and segregation; and those who develop mental disorder (primary victimisation) may be subject to institutionalisation, that in each case may be far more victimising to these individuals and limiting of their life opportunity than the primary victimising stigmatic condition itself, and are thus called secondary victimisation. The disregards of victims’ needs following a crime against them can sometimes be so traumatic that it is called the “second rape” (in the case of rape) or “second assault”. Victims will feel let down and isolated by the criminal justice body, the medical body and any other institution that is meant to help them, but instead causes the victim in certain cases to start believing that it was in fact their fault or that they had a hand in causing the crime. During the court process, secondary victimisation takes place at various levels. Examples of this are where the victim is not afforded private waiting or report-taking facilities.