Legal Issues in Corrections Unit 1

 Prosecutor in Cook County, IL  Think Chicago  Criminal Law  Send people to prison, probation, and supervision  Seen a wide variety of cases

Arsons Stabbings Shootings Murders Etc.

 Seminars  Come to them  Real life experiences  Be courteous  Message Boards  Post early and often  One original post and two responses  Be courteous

 Quizzes/Exams  Take them  Written Assignments  Turn them in  Be complete  Don’t cut and paste

 Communicate, communicate, communicate  We all have other lives/jobs/families  Emergencies will come up  Please, just let me know  me  Come to office hours

 What is corrections?  Why do we have corrections?  Is it just throwing someone in jail as punishment?  Is jail or prison the only option available to judges?

 What is the overall goal of corrections?  Protecting Society  Should victims have a say in how someone gets sentenced?

 Police  Courts  Corrections

 Are all crimes the same?  Should all crimes be deserving of jail time?  Let’s look at the differences between a felony and a misdemeanor….

 Crimes punished less than a year in Jail

 Any crime where sentence may be more than a year in prison

 Felony or Misdemeanor?  Addicts

 Destroys neighborhoods  Leads to other crimes and gang issues  Competition from drug dealers leads to killing

 Once arrested, found guilty, and sentenced within the ranges under the state penal code, correctional agencies carry out the sentence.  Three governmental levels of correctional systems: Federal State Local

Defendant goes into a bank in Waterloo Iowa with a gun and points his gun at the teller. He orders the teller to give him money out of the register, and flees the bank. On his way out, he shoots and kills the bank security guard. The defendant tries to flee the bank but is caught by police. Which system would try the defendant for his crimes – Federal, State, or the town of Waterloo?

 The defendant decided he was in a hurry to get home from work, and drove through a stop sign on Main Street during rush hour. A police officer saw this, and pulled the defendant over. In addition to getting a stop sign ticket, the defendant also got tickets for no insurance and not wearing his seat belt. Who should prosecute these crimes? The federal, state or local justice system?

 The defendant goes into a gas station armed with a handgun and robs the store clerk. In the process, he shoots and kills an innocent bystander. Who should prosecute this defendant? The Feds? The state prosecutors where this happened? The city prosecutors?

 Corrections is a “booming business”  Number of people in the correctional system has increased over the years  Over 6 million by the end of the 20 th Century  Costs per inmate has increased  Salaries for many types of employees  Budgets for probation and parole have increased  Prison construction

 Protection through different goals  Punishment  Retribution  Deterrence  Incapacitation  Rehabilitation  Restitution

 Don’t forget about the quiz  Message Board  Post early and often  me questions  See you next week!