#1: Incarceration
Incarceration — also known as incapacitation or imprisonment — is when you’re sentenced to prison for a specified amount of time. This may range from a few weeks to life in prison, but ultimately, the sentencing length depends on the judge or jury’s decision.
Incarceration sentences are usually accompanied by minimum, maximum, presumptive, or indeterminate sentences:
- Minimum sentencing: The minimum amount of time an offender must serve
- Maximum sentencing: The maximum amount of time an offender can serve
- Presumptive sentencing: Most states have presumptive guidelines that an offender may serve based on the type of crime they committed
- Indeterminate sentencing: The offender shall not serve less than or more than a specific amount of time
However, the United States prisons are severely overpopulated, which is why incarceration is usually a last resort if other methods are unsuitable. Another argument against defaulting to incarceration is that most prisoners do not reform and instead return to a life of crime after they are released.
#2: Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is a growingly popular method of criminal punishment because it aims to help offending individuals change their behaviors by removing them from the environment that might have led them to commit the crime in the first place.
Statistics show that rehabilitation does seem to decrease recidivism. For example, if a person is arrested for selling drugs because they associate with drug dealers, a form of rehabilitation may remove them from that setting so that they could take time to move away from that way of life. Then, hopefully, once they go back into society, they won’t re-offend.
#3: Diversion
Diversion is a unique “punishment” in which a judge may sentence an offender to a deferred sentencing program or dismiss the charges to avoid a criminal record or conviction.
If a teenager steals jewelry from a department store, and it’s their first offense, the officer may release them (if the store manager decides not to press charges).
Diversion is most common for first-time, low-level offenders who don’t have records or may experience negative effects from formal sentencing. Judges may offer diversion because they believe this was a one-time mistake and that this crime shouldn’t tarnish their permanent records.
#4: Retribution
Have you ever heard of “an eye for an eye”? If so, that’s retribution. If an offender steals money from someone, they must pay it back. If an offender murders somebody, they go to prison (and may face death row).
Retribution is a hot topic in criminal justice since many believe it’s fair — while others do not. Many may argue that retribution is often unjust because several factors come into play when deciding an offender’s sentencing.
For example, individuals part of the community who sit on the jury may have wildly different opinions than those who aren’t local and are unfamiliar with the community.
We Can Help You — No Matter What Punishment You’re Facing
If you’ve been charged with a crime and are facing punishment, don’t wait any longer: Call Hickey & Hull Law Partners today. Our River Valley office number is 479.434.2414, and our Northwest Arkansas number is 479.802.6560. Contact us or fill out our form and we’ll give you a free case consultation because our number one goal is to ensure that you’re treated justly.
FAQs
The Four Major Types of Criminal Punishments
- Minimum sentencing: The minimum amount of time an offender must serve.
- Maximum sentencing: The maximum amount of time an offender can serve.
- Presumptive sentencing: Most states have presumptive guidelines that an offender may serve based on the type of crime they committed.
The system devised by the USSC required federal judges to ensure that the sentence reflects the gravity of the crime, that the punishment furthers the goal of deterrence, that the sentence protects the public from further crimes by the criminal, and that the criminal receives any necessary treatment, medical care or ...
What are the four theories of criminal sentencing punishment? ›
Explain the importance of understanding punishment theories to society. Explain the four standard theories of punishment: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.
What are the different types of punishments? ›
Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code ,1860 prescribes five kinds of punishments - 1) Death Penalty, 2) Life imprisonment, 3) Imprisonment (Rigorous & Simple), 4) Forfeiture of property, and 5) Fine. (I) Capital Punishment : The infliction of death by an authority as a punishment is called capital punishment.
What are the 4 sentence types? ›
There are four types of sentences in the English language: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogatory. Each sentence type serves a different purpose. Understanding the different sentence types and how to use them will help improve your writing skills.
What are the 4 purposes of punishment? ›
Four major goals are usually attributed to the sentencing process: retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation. Retribution refers to just deserts: people who break the law deserve to be punished.
What are the 4 factors of punishment? ›
Justifications for punishment include retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. The last could include such measures as isolation, in order to prevent the wrongdoer's having contact with potential victims, or the removal of a hand in order to make theft more difficult.
What are the 4 factors of sentencing? ›
Whether it was a violent offense. The seriousness of the offense. Lack of remorse. Prior conviction in criminal history.
What are the 4 aims of punishment? ›
What are the five aims of punishment? Deterrence, Retribution, Rehabilitation, Public Protection and Reparation.
What are the 4 views of punishment? ›
Incapacitation prevents crime by removing a defendant from society. Rehabilitation prevents crime by altering a defendant's behavior. Retribution prevents crime by giving victims or society a feeling of avengement. Restitution prevents crime by punishing the defendant financially.
There are different kinds of punishment that a person can face. In order to understand them, first, we need to understand the theories of the punishment. There are majorly four theories of punishment. These theories are the deterrent theory, retributive theory, preventive theory, and reformative theory.
What are the 4 theories of criminal justice? ›
Typically, legal theorists and philosophers consider four distinct kinds of justice: corrective justice, distributive justice, procedural justice, and retributive justice.
What are 4 common punishments for crimes? ›
Types of Punishment
- Incarceration. Incarceration means time in a local jail or a state or federal prison. ...
- Fines. Many criminal punishments carry fines, which is money paid to the government (often a city, county, or state).
- Diversion. ...
- Probation. ...
- Restitution. ...
- Community service. ...
- Defendant 1. ...
- Defendant 2.
All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioral response. Now let's combine these four terms: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment (Table 1). Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
What is the harshest form of punishment? ›
Severe historical execution methods include the breaking wheel, hanged, drawn and quartered, mazzatello, boiling to death, death by burning, execution by drowning, feeding alive to predatory animals, death by starvation, immurement, flaying, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement, crushing, execution by elephant, ...
What are the four approaches to sentencing? ›
Over time, governments have embraced four different approaches to sentencing offenders to incarceration: indeterminate, indefinite, determinate, or definite. Criminal codes may incorporate more than one single approach. These approaches can be seen as a spectrum of judicial discretion.
What are the 5 most common sentencing? ›
The most common sentences are:
- Absolute discharge.
- Conditional discharge.
- Suspended sentence.
- Probation.
- Fine.
- Imprisonment (jail)
- Intermittent sentence (“weekends”)
- Conditional sentence (”house arrest”)
Probation is the most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States.
