UWG Social Science Presentencing Investigation Discussion

For assignment one, you will begin by listing and describing the five purposes of the presentence investigation. Then draft a narrative on how these investigations can impact a person’s sentencing and potentially their chances of rehabilitation. Your total submission must be no less than 600 words. You must include citations as needed and follow APA format.

Corrections: An Introduction
Sixth Edition
Chapter 2
Sentencing and the Correctional
Process
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Sentencing
• Sentencing
– Imposition of criminal sanction by judicial authority
• Felony
– Crime that is punishable by more than one year in
prison
• Misdemeanor
– Crime that is punishable by less than one year in
prison
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Pretrial Activities: Pretrial Diversion
• Suspension of criminal process while the offender is
provided the chance to participate in treatment programs
– Minor offenders and misdemeanor crimes
– Voluntary
– Ideally results in charge dismissal
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Pretrial Activities: Pretrial Detention
in Jail
• Preventative detention
– Detaining an accused person in jail to protect the
community from potential criminal behavior
– Justified by the 1984 Comprehensive Crime Control
Act
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Pretrial Activities: Release on Bail
• Bail
– Pledge of money or property in exchange for promise
to return for further criminal processing
• Surety
– Person who is legally liable for conduct of another
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Pretrial Activities: Alternatives to Bail
• Personal recognizance
• Unsecured bond
• Percentage bond
• Surety bond
• Collateral
• Third-party custody
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Pretrial Activities: Pretrial Service
Programs
• Release on recognizance (ROR)
– Written promise to return for trial process with no
pledge of money
– Used for low-level offenders
• Supervised pretrial release (SPTR) programs
– Supervision of offenders released on their own
recognizance
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The Role of Plea Bargaining and
Sentencing
• Plea bargaining
– Agreement in which the defendant agrees to a plea of
guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence
▪ 90% of felony cases result in pleas
▪ Relieves backlogged court system
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Presentencing Correctional Activities
(1 of 3)
• Presentence investigation (PSI)
– Report detailing the background of a convicted
offender, including criminal and personal history
– Used in sentencing, prison classification, and parole
boards
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Presentencing Correctional Activities
(2 of 3)
• Purposes of the PSI
– Sentencing by court
– Determining supervision needs
– Classifying offenders
– Making release decisions
– Research purposes
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Presentencing Correctional Activities
(3 of 3)
• Collecting information for the PSI
– Information collected through interviews and police and
court data
– Victim impact statement and sentencing
recommendation are the two most important pieces of
information
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Figure 2.1 Format for Presentence
Investigation in U.S. Courts
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The Sentencing Decision: Sentencing
Options (1 of 2)
• Economic sanctions
• Probation
• Intermediate sanctions
• Short-term confinement
• Imprisonment
• Capital punishment
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The Sentencing Decision: Sentencing
Options (2 of 2)
• Concurrent sentences
– Sentences that run at the same time
• Consecutive sentences
– Sentences that run one after another
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The Sentencing Decision: Sentencing
Models (1 of 2)
• Indeterminate sentences
– Sentences that have a minimum and maximum length,
and a release authority has discretion of release date
▪ Rehabilitative form of sentence
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The Sentencing Decision: Sentencing
Models (2 of 2)
• Determinate sentencing
– Sentences of fixed terms
▪ Truth in sentencing
▪ Good time
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The Sentencing Decision: Discretion
in Sentencing (1 of 3)
• Judicial form of sentencing
– Judges have primary discretion
• Administrative form of sentencing
– Administrative bodies have discretion in good time and
early release
• Legislative form of sentencing
– Legislative bodies create structured sentencing codes
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The Sentencing Decision: Discretion
in Sentencing (2 of 3)
• Mandatory minimum sentences
– Requires a specific minimum sentence for certain
crimes or certain types of offenders
• Three-strikes laws
– Legislative mandate giving third-time felons extremely
long or life prison sentences
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The Sentencing Decision: Discretion
in Sentencing (3 of 3)
• Presumptive sentencing
– Predetermined range of minimum, average, and
maximum terms for a specific crime
• Sentencing guidelines
– Structured sentences, based on offense severity and
criminal history, to determine current sentence
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Figure 2.3
Minnesota
Sentencing
Guideline Grid
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Reforming Sentencing: Sentencing
Policies and Incarceration Rates
• Rate of imprisonment
– Number of offenders in prison per 100,000 population
• Factors influencing incarceration rates
– Separate time served for violent offenders
– Enhancing sentences for drug offenses
– Mandatory sentencing laws
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Figure 2.4 Map of the United States with
Incarceration Rates per State
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Reforming Sentencing: Re-examining
Sentencing Policies
• United States v. Booker (2005)
– Struck down requirement of federal sentencing
guidelines and asked judges to make decisions based
on reasonableness of the case
• Sentencing policies should embody fairness and serve the
community while working to rehabilitate the offender
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Creative Sentencing Options
• Drug courts
– Alternative to traditional court models to deal with the
underlying drug problem
– Successful as an alternative to traditional court and
sentencing processes
• Mental health and other specialty courts
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