Disparity in prison sentencing

Abstract

A person who is accused of a crime, put in trial and is proved guilty by the judges is sentenced to prison. The sentence decision is based on several legitimate aspects related to crime and the criminal such as the significance of crime and the harm caused to the victim. However, when a sentence decision is influenced by factors other than the legitimate ones such as race, wealth, gender and ethnicity, there exists sentence discrimination. On the contrary, when the differences in the sentence decision occur because of the variance in jurisdictions or judges, sentence disparity exists. Disparity and discrimination are often used mutually, but both have a significant difference in their meanings and in their forms when it relates the sentence judgment. This paper cascades light on the disparity in prison sentencing. It distinguishes between the sentence discrimination and sentence disparity. After that, the paper describes different kinds of sentence disparity. In the end, it is briefed that not all sentence disparities are unjustifiable.

Abstractii

Introduction4

Disparity in prison sentencing4

Types of Sentencing Disparity5

Inter jurisdictional Disparity5

Intra jurisdictional Disparity5

Intra judge Disparity6

Warranted Versus Unwarranted Disparity6

Conclusion7

References8

Disparity in prison sentencing

Introduction

A sentence can be defined as a chastisement, given to a person who has been involved in a criminal act, by a magistrate. When a crime takes place, the police take into custody and accuse a person. Then it is determined by the prosecution service, whether to take that accused to the court. If the person is put on trial and also beseeches as blameworthy or is found at fault by judges or a jury of members, he is sentenced. The magistrates or the judges carefully study the facts related to the case and determine what would be the most appropriate sentence. The sentence is also determined on the basis of harm caused to the victim by the accused and how chargeable the criminal is (sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk)

Disparity in prison sentencing

Assertions of disorder and mayhem in sentencing reveal issues about discrimination and disparity. Even though, these terms are every so often used mutually, their meanings are not same. Disparity can be defined as dissimilarity in action or result that does not essentially comes from deliberate partiality or chauvinism. Discrimination, in contrast, is a discrepancy in dealing of individuals on the basis of unrelated criteria, such as social class, gender or race (www.uk.sagepub.com).

Relating to the sentencing procedure, when criminals who are akin receive dissimilar sentences or when dissimilar criminals receive the same sentence, it is termed as disparity. It occurs when judges enforce dissimilar prison terms on two criminals with similar criminal records who are condemned of the identical offense, when judges enforce similar sentences on two criminals having completely different crime records and offense, or when the judge or the jurisdiction of enforcement influences the sentence decision (www.uk.sagepub.com).

On the contrary, discrimination in sentencing occurs when lawfully immaterial characteristics of an accused person influence the enforced sentence after all legitimately pertinent factors are considered. It occurs when male criminals get more penalizing sentences as compared to female criminals, when ...