Reference no: EM132239127

Respond as to why you agree or disagree with the discussion response from the 3 students below. Your response should be at least 100 words for each of the 3 discussion responses.Bottom of Form

Discussion replies:

1. Module 6 discussion- Reply to M

The four reasons for sentencing are Retribution, Deterrence, Incapacitation, and Rehabilitation. Retribution is the punishment for knowingly breaking society's rules. Deterrence is like retribution, but instead of just punishment for the crime, the idea is preventing the crime from happening again in the future with the sentencing chosen. Incapacitation is defined as harsher sentencing for crimes that in hopes will deter others from committing the same crime in society.

Rehabilitation is using programs within the prisons to help the inmates make a change within themselves so that when they are released they will no longer be a threat to themselves or their community. In the case from the text I saw that the deterrence philosophy was in use.

They got such long sentences to be used as an example and to try and deter others from committing the same crime. When it comes to non-violent crimes I think that if more rehabilitation is put into action and the programs are actually worked with non-violent offenders, they should not receive such lengthy sentences. I understand the point of deterrence but at the same time the extreme long sentences should be there for violent offenders, there are already overcrowded prisons as it is.

The federal sentencing guidelines were put into place to "remove judicial bias from the sentencing process" (Gaines & Miller, 2017, Cengage Learning). These guidelines have become harsher than they were before by far. The average Federal sentence in 2004 was fifty months which was more than doubled since 1984 (Gaines & Miller, 2017, Cengage Learning).

The trend from our text that applies to the case is inmates serving more time. They were given quite the lengthy sentence for a non-violent crime.

Decarceration is the attempt to lower the incarceration rates. There are three different ways to go about doing this and they are: decreasing the chances that nonviolent offenders will return to prison, increasing the number of nonviolent offenders released from prison, and decreasing prison sentences for probation and parole violations. I agree with the Decarceration trends, as they are helping to alleviate the numbers of people in prisons for nonviolent crimes so that we have the room to keep the violent offenders out of our communities.

2. DISCUSSION 6 Reply to A

In Chapter 11 you learned about the four basic philosophical reasons for sentencing criminals. Briefly discuss these four reasons in your own words.

The 4 basic philosophical reasons are:

Retribution: justice and punishments are done to who commits a crime- Just Deserts: meaning a punishment should be done on the severity of the crime.

Deterrence: preventing future crimes through the punishment

Incapacitation: incarcerating criminals, this way there will be a safe society

Rehabilitation: treatment for offenders. This function is for the people that commit a crime, these cases should receive medical rehabilitation in order to become a better person. (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 349,351,352).

Which of these sentencing reasons is demonstrated in the stories of Timothy Tyler and Scott Walker? Discuss. Retribution and Just Deserts were used in Tyler and Walker, they both committed a crime of selling drugs, Deterrence, they both received the punishment of being in jail because the sale of drugs is not only damage to the society but also to our youth. They both received the punishment, not fair deserved because is a sentence where they can spend the rest of their lives in prison.

"Scott Walker hopes that he can benefit from the updated clemency standards". (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 348).

Are there any circumstances under which you think a nonviolent criminal deserves to spend his/her life in prison? No, because when there is just punishment and the crime was not violent, there should not be a life sentence in prison, especially if there are no records of non-violent crimes and when there is no criminal record and it is the first time that the person violates the law.

What sentencing philosophies are behind your reasoning? Just Deserts, because the person who commits a crime, violates the law should receive a fair punishment. Depending on how big or small a crime is, the crime must be punished.

Consider the structure of sentencing that you learned about in Chapter 11.

What are federal sentencing guidelines and why were they created? Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules established in an effort to eliminate incorrect decisions when dictating a sentence in a case, and they were created so that before issuing the sentence, the Judge must calculate the applicable range when sentencing those convicted of a specific crime.

How did sentencing guidelines affect incarceration rates in the United States? Has affected the incarceration due to several factors, like the type of crime and the sentence. Also, the criminal history scale and the sentence. There are 2.2 million people in the nation's prisons and jails -a 500% increase over the last 40 years.

Changes in law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of this increase. The results are overcrowding in prisons and fiscal burdens on states, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not an effective means of achieving public safety.

Which of the Inmate Population Trends discussed on pages 434-436 in Chapter 13 of your text are relevant to the story about Tyler and Walker? Decarceration, when there is a nonviolent case like Tyler and Walker case, they should be released from prison and not have a sentence of life prison. People who commit a non-violate crime and are still in jail with no criminal records should be released and give a second chance.

What is decarceration? Is a method to reduce the number of offenders in prison.

Do you agree with decarceration trends? Why or why not? Yes, because will decrease nonviolent offenders sentenced to prison, increase the release of nonviolent offenders from prison and decrease the rate of imprisonment for probation and parole violators. (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 435).

3. Discussion 6 reply to J

The basic philosophical reasons for sentencing criminals are retribution (wrongdoer must pay for their crimes), deterrence ( preventing crime through punishment), incapacitation ( sending wrongdoers to prison or jail), and rehabilitation ( offering treatments and programs to reintegrate them back into society).

The retribution reasoning ( Tyler & Walker sold drugs in a society that does not accept that behavior) and the deterrence reasoning ( sending both Tyler and Walker to prison for life) were both demonstrated in the story of Timothy Tyler and Scott Walker.

I do not think there is any reason to give nonviolent offenders or even habitual offenders life in prison, especially if there are programs in place to help people with their deviant behaviors (rehabilitation).

The federal sentencing guidelines are expanding judicial discretion ( judges do not have to use the minimum sentence when determining a sentence for nonviolent drug crimes), limiting habitual offender ( committing the same crimes repeatedly), and repealing or revising mandatory minimum sentences ( eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for low level drug offender). Minorities for example, were affected by the harsh incarceration rated because they made of 70% of convicts that were subjected to the minimum sentencing guidelines.

Increased probability of incarceration is a inmate population trend that is relevant to the Tyler and Walker story. According to the article people are more likely to get arrested more today for drug and weapon offenses then they were back then, and that proves to be true in the case of Tyler and Walker. Decarceration is lowering incarceration rates.

I agree with decarceration, not everyone needs to go to prison or jail especially if there not violent or only need for illness or substance abuse. Decarceration will also lower the cost of funds for prison and jail facilities and help alleviate the problem of overcrowded jails and prisons.