Court Systems in the United States
Yaye Ndiaye
CJS200
10/12/2014
Professor Monty Mathis

Criminal sentencing involves a lot of decisions making and evidence gathering. There are four philosophical reasons for punishing criminals which are retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Retribution is one of the oldest and most know reasons for punishing someone. It is based on an eye for an eye. The punishment is to punish someone based on the crime they have committed. Therefore you punishment will solely be based on how severe your crime is and nothing else. The second one is incapacitation and this is a way to detain people that commit crimes and making it so that they are away from society. This one is mostly to make it so that the person suffers for what they have done by eliminating them from outside communication. The third one is deterrence is a way to give a threat in order to prevent crime. This usually detours people that are really afraid of punishment and it will make them think about if the crime is worth them receiving a punishment. The last one is rehabilitation which most people say is the best method because it allows convict to receive help in order to change their way of thinking and behavior. When a person is found guilty they may be charged based on the law of the land, which in this case is the United States of America. There are six forms of punishment; capital (death sentence), imprisonment, probation, fines and restitution, community service, and restorative justice (apologies). All these forms are effective. The first one is capital punishment which is also known as the death penalty. A punishment like this will come from crimes cases that involve murder, rape, homicide and etc. The method involved in carrying of this procedure is lethal injection, electrocution, and firing squad; even though this is a well known punishment it is not very common. The second one is imprisonment which is incarceration. This is when a person is put into jail for the crime they have committed. This is the most common punishment out there. The time that the convicted receives is based on the crime that they committed. The third one is probation which is usually used in conjunction with imprisonment. A person is usually given probation also if they committed a misdemeanor or a low degree felony. Probation is also a way to make sure the ex convict follows all the laws and make sure that they are trying to make a change; this includes urinalysis, job searches, and weapon restriction. The fourth one is fines and restitution; they both involve paying a sum of money however the difference between the two is that the fine is suppose to be paid by the convict to the government. While on the other hand restitution is paid to the affected party for compensation. This punishment is usually given to someone that has no threat to society. If it so happens that the convict