Criminal Sentencing

Criminal Sentencing : Ethical Issues and Problems of Reform

Sentencing is defined as the decision of what to do with the person convicted of a criminal offense.

Graeme Newman ( 1983:6) states, "Punishment must, above all else, be painful."

Criminal Punishment is the purposeful infliction of pain on a person as the result of a criminal conviction.

Is inflicting pain on the offender, ethically right or wrong?

a). The offender wronged society. Is society wrong for punishing the offender?

The Purpose of Criminal Punishment

1. Deterrence

2. Incapacitation

3. Treatment

4. Desert

Deterrence

Deterrence supports the theory of what awaits a criminal. Deterrence is designed to convince would-be offenders to avoid criminal behavior and is also guided by a pleasure principle for society.

In order for punishment to work, two requirements have to be met:

1. The punishment must be severe enough so that the pain of the punishment exceeds the benefit of the crime. For example, getting a speeding ticket in a school zone.

2. The penalty must be imposed. If the criminal is unlikely to be caught and/or punished, the threat of the penalty is not like to be "real." The lower the chance of punishment, the greater the chance of crime.

Deterrence works on two levels.

1. General Deterrence is when the offender is punished so that others will be afraid to commit crimes.

2. Specific Deterrence occurs when the penalty is designed to convince a particular offender not to commit another crime in the future.

Punishment, Deterrence places emphasis on the needs of society in general not the individual. Punishment is designed to control future crime. The rationale of deterrence is to impose severe penalties to minor offenses to prevent larger offenses in the future.

Incapacitation

Incapacitation is a justification for criminal punishment with the presumption of reducing future crimes. It also supports penalties that prevent offenders

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