Exam 12: Punishment and Sentencing

Eric has just been sentenced to a short term to be served within the community.The presiding judge had received a ______ report from a probation officer stating that Eric would not pose a risk to the community.

Since the 1970s,capital punishment has been used exclusively for _______ offenses.

You are a prosecutor who once pursued the death penalty with vigor.You believed in the death penalty as a powerful form of deterrence and felt that opposition to capital punishment was weak-minded.In the past year,however,a group has successfully challenged two of your convictions using new DNA evidence.Both convictions were overturned and the convicts or defendants were freed from death row.Now you are beginning to doubt whether you should seek the death penalty in any cases at all.What factors will you consider in making your decision?

You are a judge who believes in retribution and incapacitation.Before you is a case of manslaughter that occurred while the defendant was texting while driving.The defendant is 20 years old and a college student.You have total discretion in your sentencing.Write out your sentence and a statement to the defendant outlining the reasons for your sentence.

Which of the following is true regarding presentence reports?

Sentencing guidelines provide additional discretion for judges in the sentencing process.

A murderer with several convictions is likely to receive

_____ is a reduction in a prisoner's sentence as a reward for participation in educational or other rehabilitation programs,or for work assignments,such as disaster relief or conservation projects.

What is the significance of the presentence report to a defendant who is in the sentencing phase of a trial?

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder.Based upon state law,the judge was forced to sentence Alex to 25 years in prison.Alex's sentencing is based on which goal of punishment?

Some countries use corporal punishment as a sanction in criminal cases.Do you think the United States should use a system of corporal punishment to control crime? What results might we expect in such a system?

Which English scholar developed utilitarianism and viewed retribution as pointless?

It is constitutional for states to execute persons under the age of 18.

Federal sentencing guidelines were adjusted in 2007 and 2008 to address a highly criticized source of racial disparities in prison sentences for offenders convicted of _____-related offenses.

A(n)_____ fixes the term of imprisonment at a specific period of time.

The development of DNA technology has increased the number of people convicted by juries and later exonerated by science.

Probation officers play a role in sentencing by

Punishments often reflect the values of the society in which they occur.

The use of crack cocaine in poor,poverty-laden communities has had little effect on increasing the sentencing disparity.

From 1975 to 2000,the number of people facing the death penalty in the United States