Soci 304 1nd Edition Lecture 19Outline of Last Lecture I. Mass imprisonment Outline of Current Lecture II. Deterrence theoryIII. Major concepts and evidence IV. Death penalty: major PatternsV. Death Penalty DebateCurrent LectureDeterrence Theory: basic premise of classical criminology is that actions are taken and decisions are made by persons in the rational exercise of free will- Individuals choose to obey or violate the law by a rational calculation of risk of pain vs. pleasure derived from an act- If the pain out weights the pleasure, then the crime won’t be committed - Purpose of criminal law is deterrence - Deterrence is the inhibition of criminal activity by state imposed sanctions Classical School of Criminologyo Becarria (Italy)o Bentham (England)- Utilitarian social philosophers concerned with legal and penal reform- Make the law more rational and fair- Take away cruel and unusual punishmentsDeterrence:- Proportionality in severity of punishment- Celerity - swiftness of punishmento The punishment has to be promptThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o The closer the punishment to the crime, the more effective the punishment will be- Certainty: probability of apprehension and punishment of a crimeo The penalty should be just severe enough o If you have a penalty too severe it can lead to a back lasho The severity has to be just right o The most important element. o If you know the certainty of the punishment of a crime will have more effective punishment - Specific: deters offenders from future offenses o To get people not to do anymore future offenses - General: deters crime more broadly, example is to the general public, instill a fear of punishment o Ex: the death penalty is a general deters because it threatens people what will happen if you break the law- Modern deterrence Theory: relevant to contemporary criminal policy discussions- Other research directionso Objective indicators: Arrest rate (certainty of risk pf punishment) Maximum sentence, % of convicted offenders sentenced to prison rather than probation (severity of punishment)o Subjective indicators: measures individual’s subjective perceptions of legal penalties Fear of punishment should deter How likely is it that someone like you would be arrested if you committed X? Perceptions relationship: if you increase penalties, you decrease crime - Absolute deterrence: mere existence of formal control system deters unknown amount of crimeo In the extreme if there were no penalties for crime, society would break downo Central issue: does actual or perceived threat of state punishment provide a deterrent effect beyond informal systems of control? Yes, they do matter. Although the negative correlations are small. - Modifications of deterrence theoryo What about informal deterrence? Actual or anticipated social sanctions and other consequences of crime and deviance that prevent their occurrence or recurrence Peoples moral compass may prevent the occurrence of crime- Deterrence and criminal justice policy…o Contemporary issue: severity of punishment or tough on crime approaches. If you continue to make santion more severe, crime should decrease. But, it can actually back fire because people are going in and out of prison o Consequences - Police deterrence: the presence of police is important to prevent crime- EvidenceRational Choice Theory- People bring with them background factors that affect criminal motivations- Traditional theories of crime stop at this point- Rational Choice theory: crime is NOT due only to predispositions or motivations but involves a concrete choice. - Crime involves a choice or a sequence of choices- Pertains to how an offender thinks- Criminal decision making is focus- Key assumption of rational choice theories is that offenders make decisions that are purposiveo Make choice on limited information and pressure- Policy implications: situational crime prevention o Target hardening: make it harder for someone to take something. Such as bright lights in a gas station. Death Penalty- In the 70s there was no death penaltieso 1972: found that the death penalty violated the 8th amendment of cruel and unusual punishment. o 1976: case of Greg v Georgia: there was new guidelines for the death penaltyo U.S is the only state to not abolish death penalty Debate- Pro 3 arguments:1. People convicted of heinous murders deserve to be executed2. The death penalty saves money that would be spend on years of confinement were the offender to serve a life sentencea. Life imprisonment: 25k per year for 40 years = 1 millionb. Death penalty case: considerable legal costs. Estimate of 2-3 million dollars3. General deterrence: belief that the threat or application of legal punishments prevents criminal behavior a. Evidence is weak. States with death penalty don’t have lower crime ratesOther issues to consider:- Remaining biases in justice system?o Racial discrimination may be present. The murder victims race influences their likelihoodof the death penalty. Most individuals do not have fair representation.- Wrongful convictions and
View Full Document