Explain three of the goals of modern sentencing-incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and equity/restitution-and whether they have been proven effective. Do you think one particular goal of sentencing is better than others?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Students will need to address three of the four goals of modern sentencing (not deterrence to avoid overlap with an earlier question): incapacitation, retribution/just dessert, rehabilitation, and equity/restitution.The goal of incapacitation is placing dangerous criminals in confinement so they are no longer a danger to society. The evidence on whether incapacitating criminals reduces the crime rate is mixed. Between 1990 and the present, the prison population has more than doubled and the crime rate dropped dramatically, but from 1980 to 1990, the prison population and crime rate both increased. This indicates that other trends may influence crime rates, for example, population makeup, police effectiveness, declining drug use, and the economy. Retribution or just desert is to further the goal of punishing deserving offenders, fairly and justly, in a manner that is proportionate to the gravity of their crimes. The concept of just desert describes that the punishment should fit the crime and be no less and no more than what the offender's actions deserve. The manner of sentencing relies on punishments being equally and fairly distributed to all people who commit similar illegal acts. However, determining punishments can be difficult because there is generally little consensus about the treatment of criminals, the seriousness of crimes, and the proper response to criminal acts. Rehabilitation is used under the premise that with proper treatment, the offender will present no further threat to society. Rehabilitation assumes that offenders have not yet had access to treatment or programs that would help them. Often, offenders have grown up in disorganized neighborhoods, have been the target of biased police officers, and are disadvantaged at home, at school, and in the job market. The general public supports the treatment goal of sentencing and prefers it to policies based on punishments and incarceration. Equity/restitution is where the convicted criminals will pay their debt to society and the justice system for the disruption they have caused. Examples of this could be paying the victim, such as paying their hospital bills, paying fines, or performing community service.Student answers will vary on whether they think one form of sentencing is most effective. They should consider the challenges to each approach-the mixed results for incapacitation, the general disagreement on what counts as fair sentencing, whether rehabilitation will help all offenders, and if providing restitution will serve to keep the offender from committing future crime.