Exam 9: Punishment and Sentencing

A period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by judges or other corrections officials is called_______sentencing.

A strategy for preventing crime by detaining wrongdoers in prison, thereby separating them from the community and reducing criminal opportunities, is the main premise of which sentencing philosophy?  ​

Case 9-1 Kareem was arrested and charged with the first degree murder of Kim. Kareem and Kim were coworkers at a local bar where Kareem was the short order cook and Kim was a waitress. The prosecutors believed there was convincing evidence that Kareem was obsessed with Kim, and when she rejected him, he raped and then strangled her todeath. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. ​ Kareem's lawyers believe that Kareem is mentally handicapped. After testimony from medical experts from both the prosecution and the defense, the jury comes tothe conclusion that Kareem is in fact mentally handicapped. Which Supreme Court case ruled that the death penalty cannot be given toa mentally handicapped defendant? ​

In the spring of 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an ethics complaint against a judge in rural Arkansas for giving defendants whocould not pay fines the option of donating blood instead. If the defendant could not afford the fine and did not want togive blood, he or she could face jail time. As a judge assigned tohear ethics complaints regarding judicial misconduct, you must decide if the Arkansas judge has overstepped her boundaries with her controversial punishment option. In addition, you must alsodecide what punishment(s), if any, should be given tothe judge. What doyou decide and why? Please fully explain your answer.

Explain some of the reasons why sentencing reform has occurred. ​

_________________________refers toa situation in which those convicted of similar crimes donot receive similar sentences.

A sum of money paid in compensation for damages done tothe victim is: ​

Which landmark case effectively ended the execution of those whocommitted capital crimes as juveniles? ​

____________are payable tothe government whereas_____________is a direct payment tothe victim of a crime.

What is restorative justice and how is it used as a form of punishment for offenders? ​

Advocates of the death penalty argue that it is a strong general deterrent. ​

In Weems v. United States , the Supreme Court ruled that: ​

The Supreme Court made it very difficult toprove discriminatory intent in capital punishment based on statistics alone in: ​

As a local prosecutor, you are well aware of the high incident rates of prostitution in your community and you are now receiving a lot of pressure from the mayor and city council torid the city of this problem. However, knowing that a vast majority of these prostitutes are young female runaways and drug addicts whohave been in and out of the criminal justice system most of their young lives, you donot want toact under the philosophies of retribution and incapacitation, but more sorehabilitation and restorative justice. With this in mind, you formulate a plan totake back tothe mayor and city council. What is your specific plan, and more importantly, what is your underlying justification for its implementation?

Many methods of execution have been found tobe unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. ​

A(n)_________________is a stipulation in sentencing guidelines that allows a judge toadjust his or her sentencing decision based on the special circumstances of a particular case.

As a probation officer, you are asked towrite presentence investigation (PSI)reports for the federal judge towhose court you are assigned. As part of the PSI report, you are asked tomake a formal sentencing recommendation for each case. Recently, you have been assigned a case where a 21-year old woman (and a mother of a 1 year-old little girl)has been distributing crack cocaine in a local gang neighborhood. She was one of ten whowere recently arrested in this neighborhood. Based on your findings regarding her case, she has been arrested before for simple possession at the state level, however, this time she was selling the crack cocaine in a known gang neighborhood, whohad ties toother gangs in twodifferent states-thus making this a federal case. While conducting your investigation, you were made aware of an interesting fact by the woman's mother. Her mother indicated that she was being forced tosell the crack cocaine by her boyfriend whowas a known drug dealer and member of the Latin Kings street gang. Her mother explained that the boyfriend told her that if she did not sell for him, "that she would never see her child again." With this information in hand, you speak tothe federal agent whomade the bust, and he further corroborated the mother's story. You now have tomake your final recommendation tothe judge regarding what type of sentence the young woman should receive. What doyou recommend, and why?

Statutorily determined punishments that must be applied to  those who  are convicted of specific crimes are  ______________________. ​

The number of offenders being executed by the states is steadily increasing. ​

The philosophy that those whocommit criminal acts should be punished for breaking society's rules tothe extent required by just deserts is commonly referred toas: ​