CJA/234
September 30, 2013
Sentencing Paper
Earlier responses to crime were to be brutal, which included torture, humiliation, mutilation, and branding. These kinds of punishments often attempted to relate the punishment to the crime, as close as possible. The first response to crime incorporated linking criminal acts to sin and developing strict punishments. Throughout the years, this thought process has changed into a more humane system. The reason for corrections to is to protect the society but also to provide rehabilitation to these individuals. Punishments for criminals now include main objectives that widely differ from the first believed aspects of punishments. Punishments now embrace objectives pertaining to deterrence, incarceration, rehabilitation, retribution and restitution.
Deterrence focuses on the possible future actions of an individual instead of present criminal behavior. Deterrence is a goal that is used to avoid impending crimes from occurring. It is believed that if punishments are rendered, it would prevent that individual from committing future crimes and it would deter others from engaging in illegal behavior. When the person who committed the crime …show more content…
In the United States the number of criminals incarcerated in state and federal correctional systems has grown massively over the past several years. The number of those incarcerated has the greatest effect on state and federal correction systems. From 1930 to 1975 the average incarceration rate was 106 inmates per 100,000 adults in the population (Mackenzie, 2001). These numbers remained relatively stable until after 1975 (Mackenzie, 2001). By 1985 the rates were 202 per 100,000. By 1995 it was 411 and by 1997 it was 652 including local jail populations (Mackenzie, 2001). At the end of 1998 more than 1.3 million prisoners were under Federal or State jurisdiction (Mackenzie,