CRIMINAL LAW 1. Ahmed T. Ghandour.

PART 2. PENOLOGY

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR PUNISHMENT.

DETERRENCE (PREVENTION).  One reason given to justify punishment is that it is a measure to prevent people from committing an offence - deterring previous offenders from re- offending, and preventing those who may be contemplating an offence they have not committed from actually committing it.  This punishment is intended to be sufficient that people would choose not to commit the crime rather than experience the punishment.  The aim is to deter everyone in the community from committing offences.

REHABILITATION.  Some punishment includes work to reform and rehabilitate the offender so that they will not commit the offence again.  This is distinguished from deterrence, in that the goal here is to change the offender's attitude to what they have done, and make them come to see that their behaviour was wrong.

RETRIBUTION ( REVENGE).  Criminal activities typically give a benefit to the offender and a loss to the victim.  Punishment has been justified as a measure of retributive justice, in which the goal is to try to rebalance any unjust advantage gained by ensuring that the offender also suffers a loss.  Sometimes viewed as a way of "getting even" with a wrongdoer — the suffering of the wrongdoer is seen as a desired goal in itself, even if it has no restorative benefits for the victim.  One reason societies have administered punishments is to reduce the perceived need for punitive "street justice”.

RESTORATION.  For minor offenses, punishment may take the form of the offender "righting the wrong", or restitution.  Community service or compensation orders are examples of this sort of penalty

EDUCATION AND DENUNCIATION.  Punishment can be explained by positive prevention theory to use the criminal justice system to teach people what are the social norms for what is correct, and acts as a reinforcement.  Punishment can serve as a means for society to publicly express denunciation of an action as being criminal. Besides educating people regarding what is not acceptable behavior, it serves the dual function of preventing cautious justice by acknowledging public anger, while agreed deterring future criminal activity by stigmatizing the offender. This is sometimes called the "Expressive Theory" of denunciation.

WHAT ARE CRIMINAL PUNISHMENTS?

 there are a wide range of punishments a criminal could face.  He could face a combination of punishments, including incarceration (jail time), probation, and fines.

INCARCERATION.  Probably the best known punishment for breaking the law is being locked up in a jail.  The length of time a person shall spend in jail will depend on many factors, including if he is able to get jail credit for time served and whether or not he has a criminal record.  Determining the length of a prison sentence is a complicated matter and an experienced criminal defense lawyer can advise about the criminal rights.

THE DEATH PENALTY.  The most severe punishment that criminal could possibly face is the death penalty.  The death penalty is very limited and is only available in certain cases.  Also, not all states have the death penalty. As an alternative, the states without the death penalty may offer life without parole.  What Is Life without Parole?  Life without parole is defined as a person spending the rest of their life in prison. The criminal sentence does not include an option for parole. In other words, the person will die in prison. Life without parole is available as a sentence for both adults and juveniles.

PAROLE AND PROBATION.  Other common forms of punishment are parole (early release) and probation (trial).  Both parole and probation are ways to avoid serving time in jail and both are conditioned on good behavior (meaning if the criminal screw up he shall go to jail).  They both usually take the form of a supervised or conditioned release.  Parole is granted by a parole board after he has served some (if not a lot of) jail time.  Probation is part of the sentence that a judge gives him.

FINES AND RESTITUTION.  Sometimes a judge will order person to pay fines if he is convicted.  Fines are common for less serious offenses (such as minor drug possession and shoplifting).  Fines are paid to the state (the local or federal government that prosecuted the crime).  A person could also be ordered to pay restitution (compensation).  Restitution goes to either the victim or a state restitution fund. Examples of restitution include returning or replacing stolen or damaged property and compensating victims for medical costs. Both fines and restitution may be combined with other punishments, such as imprisonment.

COMMUNITY SERVICE.  A judge can order that a person performs a certain number of hours of unpaid work in the community, called "community service," as a form of healing justice.  It is common for community service to be ordered in addition to other punishments.  So a criminal shall pay his debt to society through labor and by performing services in the community.  This is often involve graffiti removal, trash removal, and highway cleanup.

ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING.  What Is Alternative Sentencing?  Traditionally, punishment for committing a crime is having to pay a fine or spend time in jail or prison.  However, judges also have the option of using other forms of “alternative” sentencing, especially through early intervention programs. These include:  Work-release or irregular sentence  House arrest or community corrections programs, which usually involve electronic monitoring.  Community service as restorative justice, which is frequently a part of supervised probation and court supervision sentences.  These options offer several advantages over traditional imprisonment.