Understanding Criminal Sanctions and Sentencing in the US
Punishment and Sentencing: Goals of Criminal Sanctions in the United States
Criminal sanctions in the United States have four main goals:
- Retribution (deserved punishment)
- Deterrence
- Incapacitation
- Rehabilitation
Ultimately, all criminal punishment aims at maintaining social order, but the justifications for sentencing proceed from the American values of justice and fairness. Punishment reflects the dominant values of a particular moment in history. By the end of the 1960s, for example, the number of Americans who were sentenced to imprisonment decreased because of a widespread commitment to the rehabilitation of offenders. By contrast, since the mid-1970s, an emphasis on imposing strong punishment for retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation has resulted in a record number of offenders being sentenced to prison.
Restorative Justice as a Fifth Goal
At the beginning of the 21st century, voices are calling for the addition of restorative justice as a fifth goal of criminal sanctions.
Retribution: Deserved Punishment
Retribution is punishment inflicted on a person who has harmed others and so deserves to be penalized. “An eye for an eye.” Retribution means that those who commit a particular crime should be punished alike, in proportion to the gravity of the offense or to the suffering it has caused others. Retribution is deserved punishment; offenders must “pay their debts.” Since the late 1970s, retribution as a justification for criminal sanctions has aroused new interest, largely because of dissatisfaction with the philosophical basis and practical results of rehabilitation. In effect, these theorists believe that basic morality demands that wrongdoers be punished. According to this view, punishment should be applied only for the wrong inflicted and not primarily to achieve other goals such as deterrence, incapacitation, or rehabilitation.
Deterrence: Affecting Future Choices
Many people see criminal punishment as a basis for affecting the future choices and behavior of individuals. Politicians frequently talk about being “tough on crime” to send a message to would-be criminals. Bentham was struck by what seemed to be the pointlessness of retribution. His fellow reformers adopted Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism, which holds that human behavior is governed by the individual’s calculation of the benefits versus the costs of his or her acts. Before stealing money or property, for example, potential offenders would consider the punishment that others have received for similar acts and would thereby be deterred.
General Deterrence
General deterrence is the punishment of criminals that is intended to be an example to the general public and to discourage the commission of offenses.
Specific Deterrence
Specific deterrence is the punishment inflicted on criminals to discourage them from committing future crimes.
Incapacitation: Depriving Ability to Commit Crimes
Incapacitation is depriving an offender of the ability to commit crimes against society, usually by detaining the offender in prison. Sentences based on incapacitation are future-oriented. Whereas retribution requires focusing on the harmful act of the offender, incapacitation looks at the offender’s potential actions. If the offender is likely to commit future crimes, then the judge may impose a severe sentence – even for a relatively minor crime.
Selective Incapacitation
Selective incapacitation means that offenders who repeat certain kinds of crimes receive long prison terms. Research has suggested that a relatively small number of offenders commit a large number of violent and property crimes. Burglars, for example, tend to commit many offenses before they are caught. Thus, these “career criminals” should be locked up for long periods.
Rehabilitation: Restoring to Society
Rehabilitation is the goal of restoring a convicted offender to a constructive place in society through some form of vocational or educational training or therapy. Rehabilitation focuses on the offender. Its objective does not imply any consistent relationship between the severity of the punishment and the gravity of the crime. People who commit lesser offenses can receive long prison sentences if experts believe effective rehabilitation requires it. By contrast, a murderer might win early release by showing signs that the psychological or emotional problems that led to the killing have been corrected. During the past 30 years, however, researchers and others have questioned the assumptions of the rehabilitation model. Studies of the results of rehabilitation programs have challenged the idea that criminal offenders can be cured.
Restorative Justice: Repairing the Damage
Restorative justice is a punishment designed to repair the damage done to the victim and community by an offender’s criminal act. It is a three-way approach that involves the offender, the victim, and the community. This approach may include mediation in which the three actors devise ways that all agree are fair and just and that the offender can repair the harm done to the victim and community.
Types of Criminal Sanctions
Incarceration
Imprisonment is the most visible penalty imposed by U.S. Courts. Although less than 30% of people under correctional supervision are in prisons and jails, incarceration remains the standard for punishing those who commit serious crimes.
Indeterminate Sentence
An indeterminate sentence is a period, set by a judge, that specifies a minimum and a maximum time to be served in prison. Sometime after the minimum, the offender may be eligible for parole.
Determinate Sentence
A determinate sentence is a sentence that fixes the term of imprisonment at a specific period.
Mandatory Sentence
A mandatory sentence is a sentence determined by statutes and requiring that a certain penalty be imposed and carried out for convicted offenders who meet certain criteria.
Good Time
Good time is a reduction of an inmate’s prison sentence, at the discretion of the prison administrator, for good behavior or participation in vocational, educational, or treatment programs.
Intermediate Sanctions
Intermediate sanctions are a variety of punishments that are more restrictive than traditional probation but less severe and costly than incarceration.
Probation
Probation is a sentence that the offender is allowed to serve under supervision in the community.
Death Penalty
The death penalty is also known as capital punishment.
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty, as administered, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that death penalty laws are constitutional if they require the judge and jury to consider certain mitigating and aggravating circumstances in deciding which convicted murderers should be sentenced to death. Proceedings must also be divided into a trial phase and a punishment phase, and there must be an opportunity to appeal.