the positives and negatives of reducing mandatory sentencing for drug offenders. This aspect is a very controversial issue right now. Many people are getting sentenced to serve more prison time for petty drug offenses than for murder. These drug offenders are being charged with harsher punishments than that of mobsters‚ murderers‚ child molesters‚ and rapists. The first article is entitled “Prison overcrowding creates a Need for Prison Alternatives”‚ written by Alida Merlo and Peter Benekos. The second
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author discusses the collective impact of justice involvement on communities of color and how recent social movements are challenging the issue of mass incarceration. Nicole D. Porter’s background includes managing The Sentencing Project’s state and local advocacy efforts on sentencing reform‚ voting rights‚ and eliminating racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The article stresses that the purpose of the movement is not to ignore or excuse criminal offences‚ but rather offers a new view
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examine the sentence structure of the law vis-à-vis fairness and justice. In short‚ does a Three Strikes Law sentencing structure achieve its goals without exceeding its authority? Goals of Sentencing The goals of sentencing‚ like the goals of the penal system itself‚ have shifted since the nascent days of our current system of justice. Today‚ most legal analysts recognize five goals of sentencing. Deterrence is a theory based on fear of consequences (MOJ 3.2‚ 1998). General deterrence is the
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for life. The premise of the new laws became an easy issue for politicians to back. To oppose such legislation seemed to be political suicide‚ so most politicians backed the initiative. Although many civil liberties groups opposed such mandatory sentencing measures there was little they could in the face of tremendous voter approval. Many voters did not realize that this bill could put potentially incarcerate people for ludicrous amounts after the commission of a minor offense. Even more voters
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prison systems have a problem with overcrowding is drugs. More specifically‚ the "war on drugs" started by President Reagan in 1982 brought a dramatic increase to the number of people put behind bars for drug offences. Mandatory minimum sentencing and truth in sentencing are two policies which have sent drug offenders to prison and kept them there for longer periods of time. The continuing crusade against drugs has apprehended hundreds of thousands of suspects who spend millions on drugs but the cost
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injustices‚ but here are the facts. Mandatory sentencing laws dictate that when a set amount of narcotics (for example one gram of LSD or 100 grams of heroin) is present the judge is required to sentence no lower than the set minimum (in this case it would be five years). This differs from other criminal cases in that
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underlying behavior appears to have experienced little impact. Due to todays new consciousness about the unfairness and effectiveness of harsh crack cocaine mandatory sentences has emerged among policy makers and the United States Sentencing Commission. These unfair sentencing laws‚ have a dramatic effect on the cause of overcrowding in prisons for decades.
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Ethical Dilemma Worksheet 1. What is the ethical issue or problem? Identify the issue succinctly. The moral agent is the probation officer. Because he knows that incapacitation in a jail cell may unduly and unconstitutionally render cruel and unusual punishment due to the husband’s military experience and PTSD‚ the probation officer must decide which punishment to recommend. Since this contrasts the usual 90 days minimum‚ therein lays the dilemma. What are the most important facts? Which
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There are many misconceptions about the prevalence of youth violence in our society and it is important to peel back the veneer of hot-tempered discourse that often surrounds the issue.... While it is important to carefully review the circumstances surrounding these horrifying incidents so that we may learn from them‚ we must also be cautious about inappropriately creating a cloud of fear over every student in every classroom across the country. In the case of youth violence‚ it is important to note
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Lengthening the prison sentence is being used as a deterrent or to simply take the bad guys off the street for longer. This has not worked in the past and will not work now. Facing a long sentence has not deterred robbery from happening. If prison sentencing was enough robbery would not be around in society especially not as frequent as it is today. According to a study done by the FBI in 2006 447‚403 robberies were reported to the police‚ which equals out to a rate of one robbery per minute in the
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