“The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984” The article, “The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984” (2015), written by Eric Girault, persuades the audience that the enactment of the law did not reduce crime in societies, but was misappropriated, which caused a negative impact on families and their communities. Girault describes this by sharing his personal anecdote on receiving a harsh prison sentence for a non-violent crime as a first time offender. He uses trustworthy resources in order to substantiate his claim. Girault’s intended audience for this piece of writing is the general public, specifically those that lack knowledge of the law and its due process.
According to Eric Girault in “The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984,” the enactment of this law was
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He claims the prejudices of the judicial system handed out mandatory sentencing for those who used their constitutional right to have a trial by jury. The author builds a relationship with the audience by using Pathos in order to compel them to recognize the urgency to change the current law. Girault explains the failing logic of the law on page 225, he states that communities were to be made safer and instead of targeting petty crimes the focus would be to bring down kingpins, however after three decades of the SRA it still was a failure. Girault defines the sentencing reform act as discriminatory and states that minorities are hugely effected by this law and states ”Black people are overwhelming charged, convicted and sentenced at a higher rate to federal crimes since the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act.” (Girault 228). Finally, at the end of the article Girault exposes the ruling of the Booker vs. United States (2005) case by alluding the outcome of SRA was unconstitutional and was in conflict with its goal, however, the Supreme Court feared to many prisoner would be released. (Girault 230) After using personal anecdote of his own experience on receiving a stuff sentence as a first time offender and using credible sources, Eric Girault urges the reader to get on board with the only logical thing to do is to completely over turn the
“ The Better Pick” “No matter how harsh your punishments, you’re not going to get an orderly society unless the culture is in favor of order” (Woon 183). In “Time to Assert American values,” by New York Times and “Rough Justice” by Alejandro Reyes, both passages argue for and against the punishment prescribed in the Michael Fay case. After carefully analyzing the two texts the reader realizes that the article “Rough Justice” has the most relevant and sufficient article to support these arguments because of the way the author uses a sustainable amount of evidence and facts to back up it’s claims, as well as, strong rhetorical appeals. One example of how “Rough Justice” has a stronger appeal to it than “Time to Assert American values,” is its
Franklin, J. (2000).Three Strikes and You're Out of Constitutional Rights - The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Three Strikes Provision and Its Effect on Indigents, 71 U. Colo. L. Rev. 191. This article hypothesizes that the PLRA Three Strikes provision or law goes against the equal protection element provided for in the Fifth Amendment due process clause and hence, it is constitutionally suspect. The methods used to find information and data to support the hypothesis are qualitative whereby the researcher reviews past documents and records regarding the three strikes provision.
Modern sentencing practices are outrageous and out of control. People go to prison for 162 years for stealing a car or 25 to life just for simply making a mistake of leaving their child in the car for no longer than 20 minutes without killing or harming the child. Even the innocent get sentenced major years for crimes they didn’t even commit. Lately sentencing has been crazy, so at this point in time sentence reforming is relevant in this case. To begin with, sentence reforming needs to take place because people are getting way to many years for petty crimes they didn't commit.
The “Three Strikes Law” has been highly controversial since it was introduced by our government in the early and into the mid 1990’s. Specifically the “Three Strikes Law” looks to target persistent and prior offenders to impose harsher sentences. Since such a small percentage of the population commits such a large percent of crime, the “Three Strikes Law” was designed to incapacitate the repeat offenders. The mandated and elongated prison sentences given out by the judges for repeat offenders have been criticized and enclose both benefits and detriments. Throughout this paper I will look to delve deeper into the “Three Strikes Law” to determine the constitutionality of the statute while looking at specific case examples to support my theory
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: The New Press. Michelle Alexander in her book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" argues that law enforcement officials routinely racially profile minorities to deny them socially, politically, and economically as was accustomed in the Jim Crow era.
Advocating for the Vulnerable: Lessons from Two Powerful TED Talks Law and Society has been a very informative class and has greatly enriched my understanding of the American justice system. However, one particular section of the course stands out in my mind as the most potent example of how dysfunctional the American justice system can be. David R. Dow — Lessons from Death Row Inmates. In his Ted talk Dow argues that the death penalty system in the US is deeply flawed and that it fails to address the underlying issues that lead people to commit crimes. He suggests that we need to focus more on prevention and rehabilitation rather than punishment alone.
Since the earliest inception of a codified concept of crime and punishment the criminal justice system has been in a state of ever changing progress building on the philosophies of laws and their subsequent punishments from as far back as ancient times of human society. In this essay what will be looked at are the current policies and principals of punishment of the state of Texas with regards to specified and targeted crimes in particular the crimes of aggravated assault, and grand theft auto, as well it will be looked at to see if there are any new practices that may improve the current system that is in place or if any changes or modifications needs to be done. In centuries past the most common forms of punishment have their roots in
In May 1997, the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act (PRRA) is passed. The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act says that when a defendant commits a crime within three years upon being released from prison the defendant must serve an additional
Introduction Crime, its punishment, and the legislation that decides the way in which they interact has long been a public policy concern that reaches everyone within a given society. It is the function of the judicial system to distribute punishment equitably and following the law. The four traditional goals of punishment, as defined by Connecticut General Assembly (2001), are: “deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation.” However, how legislature achieves and balances these goals has changed due to the implementation of responses to changing societal influences. Mandatory minimum sentences exemplify this shift.
How Sentencing Affects the State and Federal Prison Systems The United States
The film is a scathing critique of the institutional corruption and racial inequality that pervades the justice system. Through the character of Stanley and his fellow inmates, the movie raises critical questions about the role of the state in regulating the lives of citizens, the use and abuse of power by authorities, and the ways in which social and legal norms shape our perception of crime and
Jaclyn Seigel Doctor Morales PHM2121 30 April 2015 “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” By Michelle Alexander; An Evaluation In “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness” by Michelle Alexander, Alexander explains her opinion on mass incarceration and “The War on Drugs.” Even though “The War on Drugs” took few steps forward to eliminating drug abuse, Michelle Alexander’s book explains how this has created more problems rather than solutions. Alexander focuses on how African American communities have become more vulnerable to the arrests.
Hyde, H. Montgomery. Crimes and Punishment. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1985. Print.
Annotated Bibliography Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Alexander opens up on the history of the criminal justice system, disciplinary crime policy and race in the U.S. detailing the ways in which crime policy and mass incarceration have worked together to continue the reduction and defeat of black Americans.
The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.