Over the past few decades, the sentencing process of the United States of America has undergone a lot of changes. These reforms have resulted in longer prison sentences, the stringent policies regarding imprisonment and determinate sentencing have resulted in a movement that advocates extending the time a prisoner spends in jail. These changes include policies concerning habitual offender laws, mandatory minimum sentencing and truth-in sentencing.
Laws regarding mandatory minimum sentences were becoming obsolete therefore, they had to be revised. The previous laws did not distinguish offenders into different categories. The prison population has also increased, owing to changes in the habitual offender laws. A habitual offender is a person who has been convicted of crimes more than once. Usually if the offender has committed a crime twice, he will be given additional punishments. Furthermore, if the convict is charged with a serious criminal offense more than two times, he could face a life sentence in prison.
Truth in sentencing encompasses a range of sentencing practices that determine the amount of time an offender has to spend in prison. The reforms in the truth-in sentencing process aimed to decrease the gap between the sentence imposed and the actual time served in prison. As a result of these reforms, the level of certainty of punishment increased which led to the offender serving more time in jail. (Sabol, Rosich, Kane, Kirk & Dubin, 2002)
An important question then arises, should punishment be based on the crime or the person who commits the crime? Should each case be considered separately? In my view, offenders of a particular crime should not receive the same punishment. As the intensity of a violent or criminal act increases, so should the punishments. Convicts must not be lumped together in the same category as it would result in injustice. For instance, a person guilty of robbery should be punished according to the amount he stole and whether he/she threatened or caused physical harm to the victim. Hence, all robbers should not be given the same sentence and each offender’s case should be considered separately.
References
Sabol, W. J., Rosich, K., Kane, K. M., Kirk, D., & Dubin, G. (2002). Influences of truth-in sentencing reforms on changes in states’ sentencing practices and prison populations.
