Quiz 3 Flashcards
(43 cards)
Punishment
when an agent of the government, using authority granted by virtue of a legal criminal conviction, intentionally inflicts pain, loss of liberty, or some other unpleasant consequence on the person who has been convicted.
Retributive justification
a justification for punishment based on the theory that a wrongdoer deserves punishment for punishment’s sake
Utilitarian punishment
a justification for punishment based on the theory that a social practice is desirable if it promotes the greatest good for the largest number of people.
general deterrence
the effect that punishment of the offender will have in causing other people in the community to refrain from committing the same crime
individual deterrence
the effect that the imposition of punishment on the wrongdoer will have in causing him or her to refrain from repeating the act.
Incapacitation
the removal or restriction of freedom of those who have violated criminal law, usually by imprisonment
Reform
rehabilitation of the offender so that he or she will no longer desire to commit crimes and will be a useful citizen may be sought as a by product of punishment.
Indeterminate Sentencing
trial judge has great discretion and correctional authorities have the power to release a prisoner before completion of the maximum sentence if rehabilitative goals have been achieved; indeterminate is state
Determinate Sentencing
abolishes parole boards and creates presumptive sentencing ranges for various classes of offenses, thereby limiting trial judges’ discretion; determinate is federal
sentencing guidelines
set of standards set by a commission legislatively established for that purpose, that judges in determinate sentencing system must of may follow
mandatory sentencing
laws by which the state’s legislature fixes either the exact penalty for the crime or a minimum number of years that the defendant must serve
habitual-felon law
(habitual-offender)
laws that provide for enhanced sentencing of repeat offenders
probation
the suspension of a sentence of incarceration, allowing the offender to return to the community with conditions under the supervision of a parole officer
parole
release of an offender from incarceration prior to the expiration date of the full term of incarceration
homicide
the killing of one person by another
criminal homicide
any act that causes the death of another person with criminal intent and without lawful justification or excuse
premeditation and deliberation
the mental state that raises second-degree murder to the first-degree murder in jurisdictions that classify murder into two or more levels; cold blooded killing
murder
the killing of another with the mental element of malice aforethought
manslaughter
the killing of another without the mental element of malice aforethought
five basic elements of all criminal homicides
actus reus, mens rea, causation, death of the victim, and lack of lawful justification or excuse
The five possible mental states that comprise malice aforethought
specific intent to kill, intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, extreme reckless grievous bodily harm, intent to commit a felony that results in the death of a human, intent to resist a known lawful arrest
felony murder rule
when the accused kills in the course of committing a felony, mens rea is present, and therefore muder has been committed
inherently dangerous felonies
felonies involving conduct that is inherently dangerous to human life, such as rape, arson, and armed robbery
capital murder
a charge of murder with the maximum punishment of death, often called murder in the first degree
