Ron Fridell states, "The basic principles of deterrence are that punishments are necessary to deter crime and encourage law abiding behavior. Punishment must also fit the crime with more serious crimes requiring more serious punishments. (61) I agree with the author because capital punishment serves as a device to discourage certain forms of behavior by making the consequences of these actions unpleasant. Capital punishment is acceptable under those terms and it is necessity to the betterment of society. Micheal Kronwetter said, "No other punishment deters men so effectively as the punishment of death."(19) As an example, murder peaked in 1990 with 2,200 deaths, when New York did not have the death penalty. In 1997, when capital punishment was reinstated the murders for the year totaled 767. Deterrence obviously worked in relation to these crimes. There seems to be a direct relationship between deterrence and the effects of capital…
Such deterrence emanates from life experiences with any further crime. However, if an individual is in fear to what punishment there is it is a possibility that it will only prevent him/her from committing a similar crime. A juvenile is set up to be punished by the state authorities’ knowing of their ordeal future misbehavior. An example of specific deterrence can be seen as the impact of the actual legal punishment on those who are apprehended. Specific deterrence can result from actual experiences with detection, prosecution, and punishment of…
Deterrence: Its primary goal is to discourage members of society from committing criminal acts out of fear of punishment. The most powerful deterrent would be a criminal justice system that guaranteed with certainty that all persons who broke the law would be apprehended, convicted, and punished, and would receive no personal benefit from their wrongdoing. Examples of the deterrence theory of sentencing is to torture the offenders and to sentence them to the death penalty.…
The focused deterrence theory is having a direct approach with offenders to help prevent violence and have a stronger response to the ones committing crimes by pulling all legal levers against them. The focus tends to be for high offenders which are drug dealers and gang members. Gangs are notified that violence is not to be tolerated and if violence still happens then serious measures will bring a certain and immediate response. It is used to put a perimeter in the views of offenders. This helps prevent future organizations from forming due to the impact of the severity of punishments that await any offenders. This helps keep gangs and drug dealers under low profile and help keep the streets cleaner. These specific crimes are less likely to happen.…
Deterrence was an effective strategy during the Cold War because it prevented both nations from exerting military force on the other. Despite being a very large cause of tension, without it, the destruction and overtaking of each nation may have been imminent. A firm offensive stand from both enemies, displayed the ultimate prowess of the respective nations, and as a result, no actual armed conflict would be taken against the nations due to the fear of extreme retaliation.…
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…
Making an individual afraid to commit the crime again by threat of the same punishment or a harsher punishment.…
The complexities of human nature, emotions, thought, morals and ethics have been debated for centuries, and the dilemma of sentencing another human to a form of corporal punishment, incarceration or death, requires a firm foundation in the laws of the land, tempered by years of study and dedication to the law one has sworn to uphold. The several reasons for sentencing of a crime is: Revenge, for an actual or perceived need for vengeance on a violation, usually one that is very personal and emotional in nature. Incapacitation, which is to prevent the criminal from repeating crimes against society by placing them into a correctional facility on a long term or permanent basis. Restoration, is a form of sentencing when the convening authority is attempting to protect the victims by helping them to feel safe and secure. Deterrence is a sentence where the courts attempt to prevent the subject of a crime from offending again. Retribution, which is probably the oldest reason for sentencing was utilized for equal punishment to the crime, drawing from the old adage “eye for an eye”. Lastly is the sentence of rehabilitation, which in societies modern view, the ideal and preferred sentence,…
The article, “Identifying deterrable offenders: implications for research on deterrence,” proposed a unique framework from which to understand how deterrence operates. The article argued that most research has not adequately explored the proposition that deterrence operates for only a subgroup of the general population. In light of this, Pogarsky focused on more efficiently testing the effects of the certainty and severity of sanctions by dividing a sample into three subgroups and then analyzing their responses to a hypothetical situation. By doing this, Pogarsky aimed to specifically test a subgroup of the population, and how sanctions affect that group. The findings of his research contrasted many previous theories, however, numerous methodological problems can be found in his research. Consequently, these problems threaten the validity of his conclusion about the certainty and severity of sanctions on the deterrable subgroup of the general population.…
Probably no other man-made object has wielded as much terror or destruction as the Atomic Bomb. Created, tested, and used during World War II, it brought about the end of that bloody conflict. Unfortunately, it also was the cause of much loss in human life. However, why it was created, creation, and use are very interesting, although somewhat sad, and offer many topics for study.…
Parkinson, R. D. (2002). Specific Deterrence. Retrieved from Online Dictionary of the Social Science: http://bitbucket.icaap.org/dict.pl?term=SPECIFIC%20DETERRENCE…
Historical theories of punishment were based on the concept that applying fearful consequences to criminals would discourage any potential offenders. During the late 1700’s, a criminologist by the name of Cesar Beccaria argued the fact that the death penalty served no purpose as a form of punishment, let alone as a deterrence to criminals. He advocated to reform the criminal justice system through penology, concerning specifically with punishment and deterrence (Beccaria, 2009). In the following essay, Beccaria’s theory of punishment will be thoroughly…
Criminal sentencing in America has long been guided by one of several different major philosophies of punishment, including retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation (Spohn, 2000). Retributive sentences involve punishments intended to exact revenge, in line with the biblical idea of “an eye for an eye.” This is based on the belief that some behaviors are unconditionally wrong and therefore justified of punishment. From this perspective, sentences should be equal with the harm done to society. Deterrence, on the other hand, involves a more practical basis for sentencing. It is based on the concept that crime is easily chosen as the result of a rational cost-benefit examination. Individuals will engage in crime when the benefits…
Sentencing is an important aspect in the criminal justice process. It is the punishment defendants receive when they are convicted of a crime. The punishment spectrum is wide and vast, ranging from probation to death. Punishment and sentencing present some of the most complex issues of the criminal justice system. There are four main philosophical reasons surrounding the purpose of sentencing; they are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. Retribution is the philosophy that a criminal's punishment shall be determined on the severity of the crime he or she committed. It should be noted that retribution is not the same thing as revenge and that the punishment does not satisfy the revenge theory to anyone who may have been a victim. The retribution philosophy also is inspired by the Old Testament, where it states "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Deterrence philosophy has two parts to it, which are the general and specific deterrence. The Deterrence philosophy is based on the fact that a criminal will realize the punishment outweighs the crime that he or she is going to commit. This philosophy hopes to prevent the criminal from going through with the criminal act. The general deterrence works this way, if the punishment is seen to outweigh the crime then others will be deterred from committing the same crime. The specific deterrence is based on the theory that a criminal, once punished and released, will not want to commit another crime and receive the same punishment. The Incapacitation philosophy believes by incarcerating criminals, this takes away the criminals liberty by placing them in jail or prison; this will ultimately keep the criminal from committing further crimes among society and reduce further criminal opportunity. Rehabilitation is another means of trying to reduce criminal activity. Rehabilitation will teach a person not to commit further criminal acts. This philosophy believes that the public is better…
On the 6th November 1945, a United States bomber flew towards the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The only cargo aboard that B-29 bomber was an atomic bomb – ironically nicknamed “Little Boy” - that was to be dropped on its target. At 8.15am and at a height of around 2,000ft the bomb exploded above Hiroshima, taking 140,000 lives with it. Most of the 140,000 died instantly, horrifyingly the rest of the innocent civilians that were not in direct contact with the bomb died painful deaths in the four months following. They died from radiation sickness and different types of cancers.…