Reference no: EM132246962

Discussion :

There are four types of sentencing goals (Masters et. al., 2017). These four types are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation (Masters et. al., 2017). Retribution is defined as punishing the convicted criminal for the crime or crimes that they committed (Masters et. al., 2017). It makes sure that the punishment matches the extent of the crime (Masters et. al., 2017). An advantage to retribution is that the criminal is punished for the crimes that they committed. A weakness to retribution is that it does not prevent future criminal acts from the same person.

Deterrence is defined as a sentence that is supposed to teach the criminal a lesson in that the behavior or actions that they committed will not be tolerated within society and that there will be consequences or punishment as a result (Masters et. al., 2017). The main purpose of deterrence is to prevent future crimes from happening by showing the criminals that there will be consequences or punishment for their actions (Masters et. al., 2017).

There are two types of deterrence: specific and general deterrence (Masters et. al., 2017). Specific deterrence is supposed to convince the criminal that is being sentenced to not commit that crime again (Masters et. al., 2017). General deterrence is supposed to convince the other members of the community and society to not commit the crime either (Masters et. al., 2017). An advantage to deterrence is that the criminal is punished for the crimes that they committed. A weakness to deterrence is that it does not necessarily mean that a criminal will not commit the same crime or another crime in the future.

Incapacitation is supposed to keep criminals from committing crimes in the future (Masters et. al., 2017). This usually happens by putting the criminal in prison for a long time period (Masters et. al., 2017). An advantage to incapacitation is that the criminal is punished for the crimes that they committed, and they cannot commit anymore crimes for awhile why they are in prison. A weakness to incapacitation is that when they get out of prison, they wind up committing the same crime or other crimes again because they have a hard time re-integrating back into the community and they have to commit crimes to survive.

Rehabilitation is supposed to help a criminal learn things that will help to prevent them from committing crimes again (Masters et. al., 2017). It helps the criminal to change their life through learning new skills (Masters et. al., 2017). An advantage to rehabilitation is that the criminals learn new skills that they can use to get jobs so that they do not have to commit crimes to survive. A weakness to rehabilitation is that it does not necessarily keep the criminals from committing crimes and it could give them a new skill to use to commit crimes.

I think that in some cases different sentencing models would be appropriate for different crimes but, I also think that in some cases having different sentencing models for different crimes could cause issues and would not be appropriate. I think that when it comes to violent crime, such as assault then the sentencing model should be incapacitation and deterrence, whereas with property crimes I think it should be deterrence and retribution.

With drug crimes I think it should be deterrence and incapacitation. Depending on the severity of the crime and how the crime affects the community depends on the sentencing model. This could pose an issue because just because a crime seems sever to one induvial does not mean it is severe to another.

The death penalty is a widely debated and controversial topic. Many are in favor of having the death penalty, others are greatly opposed to having the death penalty.

In the old testament of the Bible it is said to propose the use of capital punishment and the death penalty as a punishment for various crimes (Bones & Sabriseilabi, 2018). "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shell his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image" (Genesis 9:6 English Standard Version).It is said that most Catholics do not support the use of the death penalty; whereas Protestants, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalists support the use of the death penalty (Bones & Sabriseilabi, 2018).

From my Christian worldview of a southern Baptist the arguments I would give for keeping the death penalty are: The first argument in favor of the death penalty is a life for a life, a person takes a life and their life should be given (Exodus 21:23-25 ESV). "But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Exodus 21:23-25 ESV).

The second argument in favor of the death penalty is to get rid of the evil so that it does not corrupt the children and make them do evil things as well. "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11 ESV).

From my Christian worldview of a southern Baptist the arguments I would give for getting rid of the death penalty are: The first argument against the death penalty is Gods commandment of not killing (Exodus 20:13 ESV). "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13 ESV).

The second argument against the death penalty is killing of the innocent because they were wrongly accused or convicted of a crime that resulted in the death penalty. "Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked" (Exodus 23:7 ESV). The third argument against the death penalty is that we are not supposed to avenge or get revenge ourselves, we are supposed to leave that to God (Romans 12:19 ESV). "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" (Romans 12:19 ESV).

The fourth argument against the death penalty is that we are supposed to turn the other cheek when someone does something bad or wrong to us (Luke 6:27-29 ESV). "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either" (Luke 6:27-29 ESV).

References

Bones, P. D., & Sabriseilabi, S. (2018). Sinners in the hands of an angry God: An exploration of religious forces on support for the death penalty. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 57(4), 707-722.

Masters, R., et. al., (2017). Criminal Justice: Realities and challenges (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.