How does society's perceptions of the severity of a particular class of crime affect sentencing decisions?

What will be an ideal response?


Some states have integrated intermediate sanctions directly into both their felony and misdemeanor sentencing guidelines. Violent offenders in these states receive lengthier prison sentences, whereas nonviolent offenders can receive intermediate sanctions or other forms of community-based or even restorative justice sanctions. This policy shows the divergence that exists between those crimes society sees as being very serious in nature and those where society believes there is hope that the offender will not continue to engage in criminal activities and it is not dangerous for him or her to be supervised in the community. For serious crimes, the public seeks consistent sanctions based on the offense type. For other crimes where it is thought that retribution is not required and the offender can be rehabilitated or deterred, there is reason to impose offender-based sanctions that closely consider the individual characteristics and needs of the offender rather than only considering the crime type.

Criminal Justice

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Moral responsibility or blameworthiness that attaches to persons who freely and knowingly engage in wrongful actions is sometimes referred to as:

a. Causality. b. Culpability. c. Mitigation. d. Legal cause.

Criminal Justice

Most states that have collective bargaining prohibit the endorsement of political candidates by police labor unions

A) True B) False

Criminal Justice

The Court ruled in Illinois v. Krull (1987) that the exclusionary rule applied to an officer's illegal search that relied in good faith on a state statute because illegal laws can affect thousands or millions of people

Indicate whether this statement is true or false.

Criminal Justice

Victim–offender mediation efforts between the family members of a homicide victim and the offender(s) are an example of which of the following?

a. Peace-making criminology b. Plea bargaining c. Legal deposition d. Restorative justice

Criminal Justice