10.4: Contemporary US Punishments
- Page ID
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Contemporary US Punishments
When speaking about punishment in the United States, most people think about prisons. While Americans do make extensive use of prisons this punishment option is neither the most common nor the most extreme. There are four primary categories of punishment in the United States today.
Fines
Fine, or the payment of money to the court, is one of the most common punishments. Many Americans have had to pay a fine for minor infractions ranging from speeding in their automobile to not paying the parking meter. Many minor infractions are punishable by fines. Many major infractions may have another form of punishment, such as jail time, but also include a payment that needs to be made to the court. It is thought that taking an individual’s money has a deterrent effect and this emphasizes to the offender their responsibility to pay society back for the loss or harm that they caused.
Image 10.3
Community Sentences
There is a later chapter focusing on community sentences but for now we can explain that typically they entail a period of supervision within the community. During this period of supervision they may need to follow additional rules and will probably have some of their freedoms curtailed. For instance, they may need to stay away from alcohol and their car may not start until after they blow into an attached breathalyzer. It is thought that the restricted freedoms and enhanced supervision will deter the offender from future crimes and yet will allow them to continue living in the community.
Incarceration
Incarceration broadly refers to confinement in some type of a secure setting. The secure setting might be a treatment facility, a youth state school, a jail, a prison, or a halfway house or other facility. We will talk more about incarceration in a later chapter. For those that might be a threat to themselves or others, a secure setting restricting their access to the general public may be needed. Depending on the type of crime and severity, incarceration may be mandatory. It is thought that depriving an individual of their freedoms will have a deterrent effect and the time spent in the institution will allow this effect to sink in. Having institutions is also thought to scare others the way from doing crime because of the high cost this would have on them personally.
Capital Punishment
The most severe sentence in American society is a sentence to death, which is what capital punishment means. Support for capital punishment is not uniform within the United States or around the globe. In the United States, some states do not have capital punishment as an option, other states have it on the books but they have not used it in quite a while, and yet other states use capital punishment and have a number of people on death row. The Supreme Court has primarily limited use of the death penalty to first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances. There are number of arguments both for and against capital punishment. Current research does not support the deterrent effect of this punishment and so it is primarily a moral issue. One particular area of concern with this punishment is the disproportionate number of minority citizens on death row.