Discussion 2.1
Reasons Why People Commit Crimes or not
People commit some crimes due to the pressures of life, for example thievery due to extreme poverty. Others are driven by unstable state of mind due to consumption of some drugs. Other crimes are unexplainable by reason and mythical forces such as curses are believed to be the source of some crimes for example a person murdering his or her entire family. The people who do not commit crimes either do so due to fear of the consequences that may follow for example long jail terms. A deep rooted culture of discipline is also a source of lack of crimes in any society.
Goals of the Criminal Justice System
It aims at providing sufficient punishment to law offenders. It also aims at promoting the rule of law and sense of order in any society. It acts as a control mechanism against proliferation of anarchy in any society. The criminal justice system also aims at protecting society from harmful and dangerous people. It sets a standard on the expectations of the law and discourages specific behavior among member of society.
Discussion 3
The ‘Stand your Ground’ Rule
This is a law that is an expansion of the caste law that allows for an individual to exercise any extent of self -defense that is necessary without retreating when there is sufficient perceived threat to his life. However, many controversies have arisen over the applicability of this rule due to the subjectivity that may arise as far as what consists of sufficient threat (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann, 2012). The rule can be used as immunity in civil and criminal cases. However, the subjectivity of the burden of proof is one of the drawbacks of this rule.
Castle Doctrine
This is a law that allows one to use force to the extent of deadly force if the situation so requires in the protection of personal property (Carpenter, 2003). The law can be used as immunity in a case where the owner is defending himself for attack on a trespasser or even a burglar. It is a rule that is commonly accepted and applied as the ‘make my day law’ and has a few exceptions especially in the case of co-occupants. The ‘stand your ground’ rule is based on the castle rule since it involves the protection of one’s personal property from external invasion. The only difference is that the former is more specific and relates to an individual’s life and not just his home.
A case where the castle doctrine law has been applied unsuccessfully is in the case of Carl Kozlosky in Ohio. Kozlosky was sentenced to 18 years to life for killing an intruder in his home in 2009 (http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/8/2011/2011-ohio-4814.pdf)
Discussion 4
Three-strike Law
This is a provision in the passing of a judgment and sentence that allows the court to sentence a convicted individual to a longer sentence than is habitual because of committing more than three serious offences of a criminal nature (Dyer, 2000). The law is also applied for repeat offenders who commit criminal offences habitually and to reduce recidivism, generally. The state of California passed this law in 1994 and included even non-criminal offences as part of this strikes that could count. The law was created to discourage repeat offenders and to accord sufficient punishment to offenders of multiple laws. California is considered to be extremely harsh in its three strikes laws because of the fact that the judge is allowed to use his discretion to determine the sentence. Furthermore, the strikes are not limited to criminal cases alone but also include civil crimes. Consequently, minor offenders have suffered at the hand of this law.
In Washington State, the three strike law was used to incarcerate a homeless man for a robbing a sandwich shop by putting a finger in his pocket and claiming to have a gun (Dyer, 2000). This was the man’s third petty theft. By virtual that all the man’s crimes were petty crimes, it does not justify a life sentence.
References
Carpenter, C.L, (2003). Of the Enemy Within, The Castle Doctrine and Self Defense. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1290&context=mulr
Dyer, J. (2000). The perpetual prisoner machine: How America profits from crime. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
Harr, J. S., Hess, K. M., & Orthmann, C. M. H. (2012). Constitutional law and the criminal justice system. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
