Preview

Sentencing

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
633 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sentencing
Sentencing
Christine Kelly Doty
Criminal Law
3/1/13

Proportionality is a general principle in law which covers several special concepts. The concept of proportionality is used as a criterion of fairness and justice in statutory interpretation processes, especially in constitutional law, as a logical method intended to assist in discerning the correct balance between the restriction imposed by a corrective measure and the severity of the nature of the prohibited act. Within municipal law it is used to convey the idea that the punishment of an offender should fit the crime. Juveniles who are under the age of 18 cannot be given the death penalty. In Roper v. Simmons in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the cruel and unusual punishment clause prohibited a state from executing a juvenile who was under the age of 18 when the capital crime was committed. Insane at the time of execution. Ford v. Wainright, 1986, the court held that the eighth amendment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who is insane at the time of execution. Mental Retardation. Atkins v. Virginia, U.S. 2002, and the court held that the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the eighth amendment prohibited imposition of the death penalty on defendants with mental retardation. In 2004, the court held in Tennard v. Dretke evidence of mental retardation is inherently mitigating in a capital case, whether or not the defendant has shown a nexus between his mental capacity and the crime committed. Blakely v. Washington, 2004, applied the reasoning of apprend, which involved specific statutory language the permitted a judge to find facts that increased the maximum sentence for a crime, to state sentencing systems. Blakely pled guilty to second degree kidnapping and use of firearm. After three days of hearing before the trial judge, the defendant was sentenced to a prison term more than three years longer than the maximum sentence for the crime charged, based on the trial judge’s finding that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The court previously establish that the death penalty was inappropriate for the crime of rape in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977), or for those convicted of felony murder who neither themselves killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill in Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982). The Court found that the Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of the death penalty in these cases because legislatures had recently addressed the matter have rejected the death penalty for these offenders. Moreover, the Court defer the judgments of those bodies. The court ruled 6-3 that executing mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments, but states can define who is mentally…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In conclusion, this note will show that the United States Supreme Court is likely to clarify its decision in Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957 (1991), and affirm the decision of the Florida courts to uphold the life sentence.4…

    • 3052 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roper vs. Simmons was one of the few cases in almost two decades to address whether it’s constitutional under the eighth and fourteenth amendments to execute a juvenile offender who was over the age of fifteen but under the age of eighteen when he/she committed a capital crime. In 1988, Thompson vs. Oklahoma banned the execution of minors who were sixteen years of age when they committed a capital crime. Another case, Stanford vs. Kentucky (1989), divided the court which eventually rejected that the Constitution excludes capital punishment for minors of this age group. Roper vs. Simmons overturned the decision in Stanford vs. Kentucky. Only seven countries in the past century have favored execution of minors convicted of capital crimes: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Virginia (2002) when the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded, there has been a shift in the use of the juvenile death penalty that reflects society’s “evolving standards of decency.” A national consensus has developed since Stanford v. Kentucky (1989) in which the majority of states do not support the use of the death penalty for juveniles. Currently, 30 states prohibit the juvenile death penalty, and 12 of those states have banned the death penalty completely. In addition, since 1989, five states that previously allowed the juvenile death penalty have banned its use, either through legislation or through judicial…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court declared laws that require judges to impose life-without-parole sentences for juveniles to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishments.” The decision ( Miller v. Alabama ) was a 5-4 split in the Court – which is typical of many such decisions that apply the cruel and unusual punishment provision.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roper Vs Simmons Essay

    • 1484 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the 2005 case Roper v. Simmons, the supreme court ruled that any individual who is under the age of 18 when he commits a crime cannot be sentenced to the death penalty because it does not stand with the nation’s ‘evolving standard of decency.’ Roper v. Simmons is in very close relation to the case Graham v. Florida. Graham established the principle that no minor can be sentenced to life without parole unless they committed a homicide, and further reduced the harshest punishment a minor can receive. The interpretation of the 8ths amendment has changed much between the 1900s and early…

    • 1484 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark George indicates in his article The Relevance of The Eight Amendment to the US Death Penalty in the 21st Century, that people with mental retardation faced high risks of wrongful convictions because they might make wrongful of false confessions. The case of Atkins v. Virginia is a clear example of cruel and unusual punishment. In 1996, the American Association of Mental Retardation declared Atkins mentally incapable. However, the court sentenced him to capital punishment. It wasn’t until 2001 that Atkins was exonerated of capital punishment due to his mental condition.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most dramatic developments in the Criminal Justice system during the late 20th Century were the revolution of the sentencing system. Prior to the sentencing reforms of 1984, most of the 20th century federal sentencing was largely based on rehabilitative model where sentencing was indeterminate. By the 1970s, the traditional sentencing system came under increasing attack as public interest in the criminal justice system prompted “crime research boom time” (Nagel, 1990; Wilkins, 1987). The concerns manifested to a policy reform focusing on retribution, deterrence and incapacitation as means of getting tough on crime and.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sentencing Proposal

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The last stage of a criminal trial is known as sentencing. During sentencing the convening authority over the criminal court proceedings makes a determination of how the guilty party should be punished. Prior to that determination being made both the defense attorneys and prosecutors may make their arguments as to why or why not the defendant should be punished to the fullest of the law. The judge taking these arguments into consideration makes his or her decision on what type sentence to hand down. While the main goal is to punish those that are found guilty there are five sentencing rationales in use in the American criminal justice system. These rationales are retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, restoration, and incapacitation. In the case of State v. Stu Dents, the judge will use the rationales of rehabilitation and incapacitation. The defense and prosecutors will make their arguments and propose the type of sentence Mr. Dents should receive which in turn will protect him and society.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the US constitution, the 8th amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment. Is convicting a juvenile as an adult and to life in prison overturning the 8th amendment. This punishment is unusual because juveniles are not adults but they’re being treated as adults. In Dontae Brown’s article, “Life Sentence: Is Life Without Parole for Juveniles Cruel and Unusual Punishment?”, Brown claims that trying a juvenile as an adult is inhumane. If the death penalty for juvenile has been revoked because it went against the 8th amendment, why can't life sentences for juveniles be revoked as well? Brown reassures that juveniles brains aren't as mature as adults and that the Supreme Court should consider what is happening in the juvenile’s daily life because it may affect one’s opinion on them. The Supreme Court should take this information into consideration before deciding on something that is unconstitutional. Although convicting juveniles to life sentences is unconstitutional, maybe for some cases it's for the…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Americans are so use to the traditional sentencing and the options that have been probation, fines, and going to prison. Concerning the way things were done in the past to now it has changed drastically. Sentencing philosophies, or the justifications on which various sentencing strategies are based, are manifestly intertwined with issues of religion, morals, values, and emotions. Talking about philosophers in history the values they held deep social values.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sentencing Paper

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Punishment can be broke down into four fundamental objectives. These objectives are deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, and incapacitation.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Indeterminate Sentencing

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sentencing is and has long been a crucial phase within the criminal justice process. Sentencing is what occurs post-conviction following an offender’s guilty plea or a trial by jury in which the offender is found guilty. The philosophy of sentencing is that of punishment for a crime committed. This punishment can include incarceration, rehabilitation, probation, fines, and community service. In order to prevent crime from occurring or re-occurring, a deterrent such as incarceration must exist.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Roper v Simmons, was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it was unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The 5-4 decision overruled the Court's prior ruling upholding such sentences on offenders above or at the age of 16, in Stanford v. Kentucky (1989), overturning statutes in 25 states that had the penalty set lower . Whereas, Atkin versus Virginia, was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that executing people with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments, but states can define who has intellectual disability . Through a living constitution the 8th and 14th amendment have allowed the interpretation of cases like Roper and Atkins to develop. The fundamental basis for the cases are integral to a living constitution is argued to be more prevalent.…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sentencing Paper

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fines are one of the oldest forms of punishment, the use of fines as criminal sanctions suffers from built in inequities and a widespread failure to collect them (Schmalleger, 2011). Fines can deprive offenders of the proceeds of criminal activity, and also promote rehabilitation by enforcing economic responsibility (Schmalleger, 2011). People have to pay fines when they break minor laws, such as driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, disturbing the peace, public drunkenness, and vandalism (Schmalleger, 2011).…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays