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Punishment due to criminal acts is a key component in any criminal justice system. There exists a close relationship between punishment and crime reduction. Although punishing offenders has some detrimental effects, its benefits demonstrate that it is a justifiable response to the voluntary commission of an offence. The criminal justice system uses an approach that ensures that the form of punishment is proportional to the nature of the offence, and has optimal results. The major reasons associated with sentencing offenders are deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation (Worrall, 2008). Deterrence considers that when a response to a certain offence is clear, certain and severe, an offender gets discouraged from participating in a similar act in the future. Deterrence aims to dissuade the offender from repeating a crime, and use him or her as an example to discourage misconduct in the society.
Retribution focuses on ensuring fairness in the dispensation of punishments by eliminating the advantage gained by the offender through disregard to the law and crime commission. The harshness of the punishment should be proportional to the severity of the crime in question. In essence, retribution aims at ensuring justice in all the aspects of a particular crime. Incapacitation focuses on ensuring that a particular offender becomes incapable of committing further crimes during the period of his or her sentence (Orth, 2003). In this regard, the criminal justice system aims at removing the offender from the society and improving public protection. To achieve this objective, a court may impose a sentence of imprisonment, which is the most common form of incapacitation. Rehabilitation focuses on changing an offender through correctional interventions. This approach seeks to identify and tackle various factors that cause a particular individual to engage in criminal acts. These include the offender’s habits, attitudes and beliefs. Rehabilitation also aims at providing offenders with skills that enable them to become productive members of the society.
The issue of drug possession has a myriad of effects on the society. A considerably large number of people die every year because of complications resulting from the use of illegal drugs. Various surveys indicate a close relationship between a large number of criminal activities and illegal drugs. Thus, illegal drugs contribute to a number of factors that act as a hindrance to development and encourage criminal acts. Some drugs have widespread effects in terms of cases of violence and the extent of illegal activities associated with them. Research shows that cocaine has widespread usage in the United States. Due to its adverse effects on users and the society, cocaine deserves severe penalties to discourage its possession, use and sale. The country spends an estimated 500 million dollars in tackling various cocaine-related issues such as rehabilitation for addicts and cocaine-related crimes (Mackenzie, 2000).To tackle this menace, a sentence of imprisonment for repeated offenders is the most appropriate.
Fencing stolen property amounts to aiding criminal activities. When someone gives any form of assistance to criminals, he or she is encouraging them to continue in their criminal act. The role of every law-abiding citizen is to make the society a better place for everyone to live in. Thieves steal property with the aim to sell. They cause considerable losses to those who have obtained property through hard work and rightful means. The ability to dispose stolen property at a price serves as an encouragement to criminals. This creates a vicious cycle involving the stealing and disposing of property. Taking harsh measures on all the people found guilty of handling stolen property will crumble the market for stolen property. Furthermore, it will encourage members of the public to become more vigilant when buying property. The rewards derived from stealing will become insignificant and discourage theft.
Although she is a first time offender, the interplay between Kathy’s two crimes provides an insight into a case, which if not handled with the severity that it deserves may become a nuisance in the society. Kathy’s first crime, cocaine possession, is severe. After considering various form of punishment for cocaine possession as stipulate in the law, I have decided that Kathy should pay a fine of 10, 000 dollars. This will serve as deterrent measure dissuading her from dealing in any manner with cocaine. The drug is driving her into engaging in other criminal acts to support her drug habit. This demonstrates various effects associated with cocaine that the justice system must address in order to protect the public (Mackenzie, 2000). Furthermore, the court directs that Kath should enroll in a rehabilitation program to overcome her drug habit.
For her second crime, fencing stolen property, Kathy should pay a fine of 5000 dollars. In addition, Kathy should cooperate with the police and provide them with all necessary information in order to apprehend the jewelry and clothing thieves. If Kathy proves uncooperative concerning this investigation, the court will request for her arrest and charging with the offence of abetting criminal acts. This sentence will serve as a discouragement to Katy concerning cocaine, as it is the main force behind her criminal acts.
References
Mackenzie, D. (2000). SENTENCING AND CORRECTIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Web Sites for Federal Defenders. Web.
Orth, U. (2003). Punishment Goals of Crime Victims. Law and Human Behavior, 27(2), 173-186.
Worrall, J. L. (2008). Crime control in America: what works? (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
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