This chapter discusses criminal sentencing, including the philosophies that justify sanctions like deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and restorative justice. It also addresses mentally ill offenders and the insanity defense. There are two major sentencing models: indeterminate sentencing based on parole and structured sentencing using guidelines, determinate sentences, and presumptive sentencing. Mandatory sentencing and three-strikes laws are examples of structured sentencing. While the death penalty remains controversial, many states are reexamining it due to documented wrongful convictions.

1. Chapter 8
Sentencing
Learning Objectives
After completion of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the various purposes of criminal sanctions.
2. Understand the insanity defense.
3. Describe the purpose of a presentence investigation report.
4. Detail differences between determinate and indeterminate sentencing models.
5. Explain how civil rights challenges have affected the death penalty.
Chapter Outline
I. Purpose of Criminal Sanctions
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Retribution
Rehabilitation
Restorative Justice
II. The Special Case of Mentally Ill Offenders
Defining Insanity
The Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984
State Courts and the Insanity Plea
Public Fear of the Insanity Plea

2. III. Fair Sentence
IV. Presentence Investigation Report
The Offender’s Background and Attitude
Sentencing Hearing and Victim Impact Statements
V. Sentencing Models
Sentencing Models
Determinate Versus Indeterminate Sentencing
Mandatory Sentencing and Habitual Offender Laws
Sentencing Guidelines
Presumptive Sentencing
Truth in Sentencing
VI. Sentencing and the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty and Abolitionists
The Death Penalty and Civil Rights
Challenges to the Death Penalty
Reconsideration of the Death Penalty
Key Terms
Abolitionists (p. 144) people opposed to the death penalty
Banishment (p. 132) the removal of an offender from the community
Bifurcated trial (p. 146) a two-part trial structure in which the jury first determines guilt or
innocence and then considers new evidence relating to the appropriate punishment
Capital punishment (p. 143) the sentence of death
Civil commitment process (p. 135) a determination of whether the defendant should be released
or confined to an institution for persons with mental illness

3. Corporal punishment (p. 130) the administration of bodily pain as punishment for a crime
Determinate sentencing (p. 140) a model of sentencing in which the offender is sentenced to a
fixed term of incarceration
Deterrence (p. 130) the philosophy and practices that emphasize making criminal behavior less
appealing
General deterrence (p. 132) the concept based on the logic that people who witness the pain
suffered by those who commit crimes will desire to avoid that pain and will refrain from criminal
activity
Guilty but mentally ill (p. 135) a new type of verdict in which the jury finds a defendant
mentally ill but sufficiently aware to be morally responsible for his or her criminal acts
Habitual offender laws (p. 140) tough sentencing laws to punish repeat offenders more harshly
Incapacitation (p. 132) deterrence based on the premise that the only way to prevent criminals
from reoffending is to remove them from society
Indeterminate sentence (p. 139) a sentence in which the defendant is sentenced to a prison term
with a minimum and a maximum number of years to serve
Mandatory sentencing (p. 140) the strict application of full sentences in the determinate
sentencing model
Not guilty by reason of insanity (p. 134) a verdict by which the jury finds that a defendant
committed the crime but was insane
Presentence investigator (p. 138) a person who works for the court and has the responsibility of
investigating the background of the convicted offender and the circumstances surrounding the
offense
Presumptive sentencing (p. 141) a structured sentencing model that attempts to balance
sentencing guidelines with mandatory sentencing and at the same time provide discretion to the
judge
Rehabilitation (p. 133) deterrence based on the premise that criminals can be “cured” of their
problems and criminality and can be returned to society
Restorative justice (p. 133) a model of deterrence that uses restitution programs, community
work programs, victim offender mediation, and other strategies to not only rehabilitate the
offender but also to address the damage done to the community and the victim

4. Retribution (p. 133) deterrence based on the premise that criminals should be punished because
they deserve it
Sentencing guidelines (p. 141) a sentencing model in which crimes are classified according to
their seriousness and a range of time to be served is mandatory for crimes within each category
Specific deterrence (p. 131) a concept based on the premise that a person is best deterred from
committing future crimes by the specific nature of the punishment
Three-strikes law (p. 140) the application of mandatory sentencing to give repeat offenders
longer prison terms
Transportation (p. 132) the eighteenth-century practice by Great Britain of sending offenders to
the American colonies and later, to Australia
Truth in sentencing (p. 143) in the application of presumptive sentencing in states that cannot
eliminate parole, the legal requirement that courts disclose the actual prison time that the
offender is likely to serve
Victim impact statements (p. 138) testimony by victims at a convicted offender’s sentencing
hearing
Chapter Summary
This chapter discusses the different philosophies that justify criminal sanctions. Those five
include: deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and restorative justice. The special
case of a mentally ill offender is considered under the concept of the insanity defense.
There are two major sentencing models that can guide a judge’s decisions. These two models
are indeterminate sentencing and structured sentencing. Indeterminate sentencing is based on
early release through the parole system. Whereas structured sentencing includes determinate
guidelines, sentencing guidelines, and presumptive sentencing. Mandatory sentencing, three
strikes laws, and truth-in-sentencing laws are examples of structured sentencing. Academic
research indicates that the application of criminal sanctions often discriminates against African-
Americans and Hispanic males.
While current day society seems to support the use of the death penalty, there is strong
opposition and much controversy surrounding its application. Many states are revisiting the
decision to use of the death penalty due to the number of wrongful convictions that have been
documented in recent years. DNA evidence has played a major role in freeing those wrongfully
convicted. Data on the effectiveness of sentencing in reducing crime rates indicate that more
studies needed.
Media to Explore

5. See www.curenational.org, the Web site of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants
(CURE). CURE is a nonprofit national organization dedicated to reducing crime through
rehabilitation programs and reforms of the criminal justice system.
Go to www.derechos.org to access Derechos Human Rights, an Internet-based human rights
organization that offers links to a number of Web sites with information about the death penalty.
Go to www.innocenceproject.org to visit the Web site of The Innocence Project. The Innocence
project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully
convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent
future injustice.
To visit Web sites for and against the death penalty, see www.deathpenalty.org to view the
Web site of an organization that argues against the death penalty, and
www.prodeathpenalty.com to view the Web site of an organization that argues for the death
penalty.
For information about the history of the death penalty and state-by-state information on
executions, see the Web site of the Death Penalty Information Center at
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org.