Question 1

James was charged with committing a robbery with a group of his peers. He had never committed any crimes and was caught up in a situation that he could not see any way out of. The attributions that would represent the above scenario include_____ and _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  internal causes; controllability 
B)  internal causes; stability 
C)  external causes; stability 
D)  external causes; uncontrollability

Question 2

Which of the four goals of imprisonment did the creators of early prisons in Pennsylvania and New York aspire to fulfill the most?

Accepted Answer

A)  Incapacitation. 
B)  Deterrence. 
C)  Retribution. 
D)  Rehabilitation.

Question 3

According to the text, _____ are the single largest group of inmates in federal prisons.

Accepted Answer

A)  murderers 
B)  violent offenders 
C)  corporate criminals 
D)  drug offenders

Question 4

The restorative justice approach, which includes face-to-face meetings and discussions between victims and offenders, has been studied using strong research designs like randomized controlled trials. These research studies have shown that victims who participated in restorative justice conferences were _____ likely to experience the symptoms of PTSD, while offenders who participated in the conferences were _____ likely to reoffend.

Accepted Answer

A)  more; more 
B)  more; less 
C)  less; less 
D)  less; more

Question 5

Discuss three alternatives to prison (you choose which ones to focus on). What are their advantages compared to incarceration?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss three alternatives to prison (you choose...

Question 6

There are stark racial disparities in incarceration. Young _____ have the highest incarceration rate of any racial/gender group. Overall, _____ represent only about 8% of the adult prison population in the United States.

Accepted Answer

A)  white females; women 
B)  black females; men 
C)  white males; men 
D)  black males; women

Question 7

Sentencing decisions are based on the crime and also take into consideration the attributions of the criminal. One question that is sometimes asked during sentencing hearings is whether the personality of the criminal has an influence on his or her criminal behavior. According to the text, what is being assessed is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  internal causes. 
B)  external causes. 
C)  controllability. 
D)  achievability.

Question 8

According to the text, three-strikes laws have been criticized for all of the following, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  three-strikes laws make the public angry about harsh and expensive punishments. 
B)  there are much cheaper and equally effective alternatives than long imprisonment. 
C)  three-strikes laws have been applied to relatively minor, nonviolent third offenses. 
D)  longer prison sentences are handed down to offenders who are "aging out" of crime.

Question 9

Early in the history of America, crimes ran the gamut in terms of transgressions. In addition to the more serious crimes of assault, rape, and murder, certain moral transgressions used to be punishable by law. The criminalized moral transgressions included all of the following, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  witchcraft. 
B)  laziness. 
C)  adultery. 
D)  blasphemy.

Question 10

Determinate sentencing means that judges are _____, if a defendant is found guilty of a particular crime.

Accepted Answer

A)  encouraged to hand down a sentence within a prescribed range 
B)  required to hand down a sentence within a prescribed range 
C)  required to defer the sentencing decision to the jury 
D)  encouraged to hand down harsher sentences when it is appropriate

Question 11

A rather radical approach to sentencing guidelines involves mandatory, or determinate sentencing, which requires judges to:

Accepted Answer

A)  implement the three-strikes laws. 
B)  hand down sentences within a prescribed range. 
C)  defer the sentencing decision to the jury. 
D)  consider the defendant's personal characteristics.

Question 12

Sentencing guidelines are supposed to assist judges in making _____ sentencing decisions. Examples of factors that affect sentencing according to the guidelines noted in the text include _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  consistent; prior criminal record and the severity of the current crime 
B)  consistent; the severity of the current crime and the offender's personal characteristics 
C)  lenient; prior criminal record and the severity of the current crime 
D)  difficult; the severity of the current crime and the offender's personal characteristics

Question 13

Sam has been in prison before and, after his release, he promised to himself that he would never do anything that can land him in prison again. This illustrates one of the goals of imprisonment called:

Accepted Answer

A)  specific deterrence. 
B)  incapacitation. 
C)  retribution. 
D)  general deterrence.

Question 14

Several major studies have determined that about 14% of the prison population suffer from a serious mental illness. Whether a prisoner receives treatment for a mental disorder is at the discretion of:

Accepted Answer

A)  prison doctors. 
B)  the sentencing judge. 
C)  the jury. 
D)  prison wardens.

Question 15

In the mid-1800s, U.S. prisons were holding a large number of recent immigrants. Among them, there was a disproportionate number of _____ immigrants. One reason that these inmates did not have much sympathy from the general population was the common bigotry, or a belief that these immigrants were _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  South American; provided with superior living conditions 
B)  South American; morally and intellectually inferior 
C)  Irish; provided with superior living conditions 
D)  Irish; morally and intellectually inferior

Question 16

For drug and property crimes, gender seems to play a role in sentencing. Females are _____ likely to be sentenced to prison terms. If they do receive a prison sentence, it is _____ than what males received for similar crimes.

Accepted Answer

A)  more; longer 
B)  more; shorter 
C)  less; longer 
D)  less; shorter

Question 17

One of the main problems with the new prisons in the United States in the mid-1800s was that, in addition to being expensive and impractical, the extreme isolation often caused prisoners to become:

Accepted Answer

A)  insane. 
B)  talkative. 
C)  violent. 
D)  mute.

Question 18

According to the text, a majority of prisoners held in supermax prisons:

Accepted Answer

A)  are dangerous to self or others. 
B)  will be released into free society. 
C)  file lawsuits against prison officials. 
D)  are assaulted by their fellow inmates.

Question 19

During the 1820s, prisons in Pennsylvania and New York were designed to be rehabilitative in nature. Rehabilitation was supposed to be achieved by _____ and _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  reading the Bible; doing groups exercises to music 
B)  maintaining strict routines; spending most of the time alone and silent 
C)  encouraging family visits; interactions with other inmates 
D)  prisoners talking to each other; leading group prayers

Question 20

The prison population is highly racially disproportionate to the general population. _____ males have a 29% chance of serving at least 1 year in prison or jail during their lifetime, whereas the same chance for white males is about 5%. The prison population is also highly disproportionate to the general population in terms of gender distribution. Nearly 93% of prisoners in state and federal prisons are _____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Black; women 
B)  Black; men 
C)  Asian; women 
D)  Asian; men

Exam 16: Corrections: Sentencing, Imprisonment, and Alternatives

James was charged with committing a robbery with a group of his peers. He had never committed any crimes and was caught up in a situation that he could not see any way out of. The attributions that would represent the above scenario include_ and _.

Which of the four goals of imprisonment did the creators of early prisons in Pennsylvania and New York aspire to fulfill the most?

According to the text, _____ are the single largest group of inmates in federal prisons.

Discuss three alternatives to prison (you choose which ones to focus on). What are their advantages compared to incarceration?

There are stark racial disparities in incarceration. Young _ have the highest incarceration rate of any racial/gender group. Overall, _ represent only about 8% of the adult prison population in the United States.

According to the text, three-strikes laws have been criticized for all of the following, EXCEPT:

Early in the history of America, crimes ran the gamut in terms of transgressions. In addition to the more serious crimes of assault, rape, and murder, certain moral transgressions used to be punishable by law. The criminalized moral transgressions included all of the following, EXCEPT:

Determinate sentencing means that judges are _____, if a defendant is found guilty of a particular crime.

A rather radical approach to sentencing guidelines involves mandatory, or determinate sentencing, which requires judges to:

Sentencing guidelines are supposed to assist judges in making _ sentencing decisions. Examples of factors that affect sentencing according to the guidelines noted in the text include _.

Sam has been in prison before and, after his release, he promised to himself that he would never do anything that can land him in prison again. This illustrates one of the goals of imprisonment called:

Several major studies have determined that about 14% of the prison population suffer from a serious mental illness. Whether a prisoner receives treatment for a mental disorder is at the discretion of:

In the mid-1800s, U.S. prisons were holding a large number of recent immigrants. Among them, there was a disproportionate number of _ immigrants. One reason that these inmates did not have much sympathy from the general population was the common bigotry, or a belief that these immigrants were _.

For drug and property crimes, gender seems to play a role in sentencing. Females are _ likely to be sentenced to prison terms. If they do receive a prison sentence, it is _ than what males received for similar crimes.

One of the main problems with the new prisons in the United States in the mid-1800s was that, in addition to being expensive and impractical, the extreme isolation often caused prisoners to become:

According to the text, a majority of prisoners held in supermax prisons:

During the 1820s, prisons in Pennsylvania and New York were designed to be rehabilitative in nature. Rehabilitation was supposed to be achieved by _ and _.