The paper reviews state criminal statuses from the legal information institute. The paper seeks to compare range of punishments for both misdemeanor and felony offences. The paper tries to explain the punishments attached to misdemeanor crimes. Finally, the paper identifies two first-degree felony offences and the punishments for each.
- INTERNET RESOURCES USED
I used the legal information institute (LII) on an open access to law. I also used the journal of Racial and Ethnic Disparities and criminal Justice in USA.
2. MISDEMEANOR CRIMES
The LII identified misdemeanor as crimes as those petty crimes with less harm. The following are some of the petty crimes and their punishments.
Term used by many states to describe theft of small amounts of money or objects less than $500. This misdemeanor is punishable with serving a term in the county jail.
Hate crime
This is crime due to an assault to another person due to his or her race, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or color. The punishment for this crime is a fine not more than $500.
2. FIRST DEGREE FELONIES
US law identifies these crimes as serious crimes. According to LII, these crimes are punishable by death or life imprisonment. A person commits first-degree felony when the law finds that the person intended to commit the felony. The following are some of first-degree felonies.
First-degree murder
The LII identifies intentional killing as a first-degree murder under the felony murder doctrine. This includes an accidental death caused by serious felony. The punishment for this crime is a death penalty and nothing less. The charges may also be a lifetime imprisonment according to the state considered.
Aggravated rape
The LII identifies aggravated rape as a first-degree felony. Rape is a forced sexual intercourse involving a man and a woman. The offenders have a death sentence according to the law.
References
Samson, R.J. (2007). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Crimes And Criminal Justice In The
United States. Journal of Crime and Justice. Volume 21
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex
