Essays on Incapacitation

The term ‘actus reus’ refers to the physical component of the crime, while ‘mens rea’ addresses the mental aspect of the offence. Situations, when the alleged perpetrator has the actus reus, but lack mens rea can be different, and a solution depends on the constituent components of a particular crime. First of all, strict liability offences and a range of other offences that differ across statutes and common law under different jurisdictions do not require proving mens rea. Strict liability often refers to minor offences (e.g., selling alcohol to an under-aged individual), where it is hard to determine the ...

Incarceration

So far, the main purposes of incarceration are incapacitation, rehabilitation and integration. In the model of incapacitation, the prisoner is deterred from committing more crimes, and the security of the populace is under consideration. In the rehabilitation model, there are treatment sessions in the prison system in order to reform the prisoner, while integration has the objective of enabling prisoners to return to society such that they become productive members of it, and are able to maintain productive relations with family and acquaintances (Cole and Smith, 336).

What are some potential impacts of incarceration on an individual? the family? Their community?

One major impact of incarceration on an individual is psychological in nature. ...

International Human Rights Law and Prisons in Africa

Term Paper 4500 words

Introduction

The International Centre for Prison Studies’ World Prison Brief, in its report suggested that over 10 million individuals are formally incarcerated in prison and correctional facilities around the world. According to the same Brief, even more are held in either military facilities where they are detained or in security or police facilities without any specific legal process underway. There are three categories that the United States’ (U.S). Government has for humanitarian and human rights concerns as they relate to these individuals who are housed in a detention facility that is; 1. unsafe in terms of ...

Historical Origins of Correctional Enterprise

Correctional systems are institutions for rehabilitating criminals. They include prisons and community- based systems. After being convicted in court, criminals may spend time in correctional systems away from friends and family. There are different types of correctional systems classified according to the government level in which they function: private, local, state or federal. They can also be classified according to the level of security, age, and gender (Waldron, et al. 2009). Most correctional systems run Correctional Enterprise programs that provide opportunities for prisoners to learn new skills, be productive, and responsible. This initiative’s objective is to instill values ...

Theoretical Essay

In the world of law punishment (alternative name – penalty) is considered as an “infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for misdeed (i.e., the transgression of a law or command).”1 Penalty may take different forms and vary from forced labor, flogging, body mutilation, fines and imprisonment to the capital punishment. The punishment has been very retributive, mostly in the form of revenge, during the pre-modern ages and usually the prosecution was executed by the victims or their families. There was not any proportion between the quantity and quality of wrongdoing and the punishment. The ...

Since punishment is one of the basic elements of the criminal justice system, all criminal justice actors including probation officers are deeply influenced by theories that justify criminal punishment. To be sure, for probation officers, two of the more common considered theories of punishment are incapacitation and rehabilitation. Incapacitation refers to the idea that an offender should be imprisoned or otherwise restrained in order to limit their opportunities to commit a crime (LaFave, 2000). Rehabilitation, on the other hand, refer to the theory that offenders should be provided the opportunity to reform and change themselves into a law-abiding system ( ...

Reply to Lori Miley

Robbery is indeed one of the most serious crimes in the nation hence people should strive to find ways of reducing the numbers most especially in high crime areas. In my opinion, I would suggest some fundamental social changes that include the redistribution of wealth as well as deterrence and incapacitation. This change would be achieved through the creation of jobs since most of the offenders are poor and suffer from financial crises. As noted by Wright and Decker, the key element that drives people to commit robberies instead of other offenses is the pressing need for cash (Wright ...

The Kansas City Gun Experiment

1. The evaluation/research project is about the ability of a police patrol project to reduce gun violence, shootings, and homicides in Kansas City. The study suggested that the presence of police force can reduce the handgun crimes, and this theory was tested in the study in the city of Kansas, where the homicide rate was 20 times higher than the national average (Sherman, Shaw & Rogan, 1995). The hypothesis of the study is that the greater the number of guns that are available for the public has the tendency to produce increases in gun homicides. The results of the evaluation ...

It takes a great deal of effort to trust, and once that is lost then it takes a monumental amount of effort to get it back. The committing of a crime against another is a betrayal not only to an individual but to society in general, as it proves that the perpetrator cannot be trusted to exist in an ordered manner among their fellow citizens. In breaking that trust it is often seen that criminals will be labeled for the rest of their days as convicts, untrustworthy and unable to be seen as anything other than a lawbreaker and ...

Sexual assault within the boundaries of university campuses is a subject that has drawn widespread attention from both scholars, researchers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations (Gunraj 4). It has also elicited a strong reaction from various public forums including online encyclopedia writing platforms such as Wikipedia. For example, the article “Campus sexual assault” on Wikipedia is an example of a reaction from the public in regards to the topic. The article is accessible online on the Wikipedia website through the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault#Explanations.Unfortunately, public opinions expressed in articles on online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia are not peer reviewed. Therefore, they ...

Pilot Medical Privacy Laws and Germanwings Flight Crash

The crash of Germanwings flight 9525 en route from Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Spain to Dusseldorf Airport in Germany, which caused the death of 144 passengers and 6 crew members, is considered to be one of the grimmest aircraft crashes in European flight history. The sad reality of this event was that this mishap was caused by the deliberate attempts of a deranged co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who was being treated for suicidal tendencies and was also declared “unfit for work” by his doctor. The initial investigations done by the BEA (French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau) revealed that the ...

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide difference answers to this question?

In what ways do the five sentencing philosophies provide different answers to this question? Classical theories provide that punishment should fit the crime. In order for punishment to fit the crime, criminal law should provide reasonable penalties for crimes and the criminal justice system should apply these penalties in a reasonable manner (Akers, 1999). Scientific alternative interventions for criminal behavior point to pathways for fitting punishment to the criminal. Whether the punishment fits the crime or the punishment fits the criminal depends on which of the five sentencing philosophies govern the punishment of a crime. Deterrence is one sentencing ...

Introduction

Punishment is the system used by society to enforce the desired standards of conduct, and to deal with the offender after a crime has been committed . Two common theories of punishment include the retribution theory and the incapacitation theory. The retribution theory seeks to punish an offender who has committed a criminal act. The incapacitation theory seeks to deter or prevent future crime. Both theories seek to convey justice.

Retribution theory

The retribution theory of punishment is the oldest theory of punishment. The retribution theory of punishment rests on the idea that those who violate the law should be punished for ...

Should Criminals Be Punished With Lengthy Jail Terms Or Re-educated And Rehabilitated Using Community Service Programs For Instance, Before Being Reintroduced to Society?

Public opinion concerning criminals and punitive actions has always been one of the most disputable, arguable and ambiguous issues. At the time when some groups of people speak about the necessity of lengthy jail terms, the others believe in rehabilitation and effectiveness of treatment. In my opinion, if we want to achieve positive results, eradicate evil and prevent future crimes, incarceration should be viewed as a necessary and an inevitable punitive action.

In terms of this paper, ...