Convicted felons can be punished in many different ways, but one thing is sure it would not be cruel and unusual. Before we look at how we punish offenders we must first understand why we are punishing them. The general purpose behind punishment is to inflict upon criminals some kind of suffering for the crime that they have committed or to protect society from those considered too dangerous to live amongst us. Punishment, a necessary evil, is sometimes required to deter law violators from repeating their crime and to serve as an example to others who would also violate the law. Schmalleger, Frank J. Criminal Justice Today An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (81).
After the trial, the court will sentence the offender for the crime that has been committed. As mentioned earlier the punishment cannot be cruel and unusual as The Eight Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits this type of punishment. Some types of punishments are the death penalty, prison terms, and community service.
Staying true to the eight amendment right the punishment must suit the crime. In the United States each state issues the death penalty for different reasons, for example in the state of Arizona a crime where there was first-degree murder, including pre-meditated murder and felony murder, accompanied by at least 1 of 14 aggravating factors would get the death penalty. Georgia, a crime where there was murder with aggravating circumstances; kidnapping with bodily injury or ransom when the victim dies; aircraft hijacking; treason. In the state of New Hampshire, a murder committed in the course of rape, kidnapping, drug crimes, or burglary; killing of a police officer, judge or prosecutor; murder for hire; murder by an inmate while serving a sentence of life without parole would get the death penalty. Around the world there are many different types of prisons. There are a few reasons why imprisonment is a good of a form of
References: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-punishable-death-penalty http://www.britannica.com http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/23292095?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104048285361 http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED355429 http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5246&context=jclc James S. Vacca Journal of Correctional Education Vol. 55, No. 4 (December 2004), pp. 297-305 Published by: Correctional Education Association Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23292095