Essay on "Sentencing and Punishment"

Essay 3 pages (1104 words) Sources: 3 February 27, 2017

[EXCERPT] . . . .

federal objectives of punishment?

Punishment remains a dominant correctional means of both federal and state governments with regard to responses to legal offences. The aim of punishment is to guard the society, restore offenders and reduce recidivism. Punishment is used across the federal and state bodies to deter people from committing crimes. If punishment is to be effective, it must be sufficiently unpleasant. It must discourage inmates from reverting to crime when they get out of prison (Bagaric, 2014; Clear & Frost, 2015).

The growing concern about crime has made many politicians to take a tough stance on crime. They have consequently pushed for enactment of new tougher laws to deal with crime and curb offenders from meting harm on the society, which largely believes that criminals should be held accountable for their actions. The various punishments are provided in the penal code of the state.

Rehabilitation is the next important goal of the federal and state punishment program. It entails the application of treatment and training to offenders in order to prepare them to fit back in the society and become responsible, productive citizens. Rehabilitation was established in the 19th century and was seen as a human alternative to deterrence and retribution. However, rehabilitation did not necessarily mean that the offender would be subjected to lenient experience compared to the deterrence and retribution approach (Bagaric, 2014). Usually, offenders would be released on probation programs after fulfilling certain requirements. In some cases, the offender under rehabilitation would have to serve a longer period in incarceration while going through the training program. In the US, indeterminate incarceration was used. It was a kind of rehabilitation program that required the offender undergoing training to show a certain amount of reform before they could be released back to society (Clear & Frost, 2015).

How does sentencing affect the state and federal corrections systems overall? Support your answer

The action of sentencing offenders to serve their terms in incarceration centers has a significant impact on the correctional systems of the state and federal authorities. Owing to the fact that there are more offenders being reigned in, the facilities at the prisons are increasingly under pressure. They are stretched to cater for larger crowds than they were intended. It is also more expensive to cater for the surging numbers of prisoners (National Research Council, 2014). In addition, it follows that the increase in the number of inmates calls for an increase in the number of personnel to deal with them. This further increases the costs of running the correctional centers.

It would be possible to expand the space, facilities and personnel at the correctional centers if there were sufficient resources available to the state and federal authorities. However, the burgeoning numbers of offenders present a dilemma to the authorities. The authorities are pushed to a point of having to decide on whether to increase taxes or reduce the number of offenders in correctional centers and lay off some of the staff manning these centers (National Research Council, 2014).

Owing to the fact that revenue from taxes is limited, authorities have heightened demands on correctional systems to adopt more proactive methods to avoid placing more offenders under incarceration. They have emphasized on the need to reduce the tax burden.

What is determinate and indeterminate sentencing? Which… READ MORE

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