Briefly describe one plea-bargaining reform that would help prevent the violation of defendants’ due process rights and constitutional protections.
What will be an ideal response?
Legislatures should reduce the maximum punishments allowed for offenses. The quality of public defenders should be increased to ensure that the quality of defense is higher and there is less reliance on plea bargaining. The plea-bargaining process should be more transparent, with many of the negotiations conducted openly and in the presence of all participants.
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Criminal profiling involves bringing together groups of volunteers in order to record their attitudes regarding crime and criminals
Indicate whether the statement is true or false
Discuss the complications involved in determining the extent and causes of sentencing disparities, and why it is difficult to correct them systematically.
What will be an ideal response?
How do death-qualified jurors differ from regular jurors?
a. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to be male, Caucasian, politically conservative, and middle-class. b. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to believe in the infallibility of the criminal justice process. c. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to weigh aggravating circumstances (i.e., arguments for death) more heavily than mitigating circumstances. d. All of these answers are correct.
America's first penitentiary:
a. isolated inmates from one another in solitary rooms. b. was opened in Massachusetts in 1787. c. focused on punishment, with little consideration given to rehabilitation. d. allowed inmates to work in common rooms, but strictly enforced silence.