Question: Part I: Sentencing Paper
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that analyzes the principal objectives of punishment within the U.S. corrections system.
Answer the following questions in your paper:
• What are the state and federal objectives of punishment?
• How does sentencing affect the state and federal corrections systems overall? Support your answer.
• What is determinate and indeterminate sentencing? Which sentencing model do you feel is most appropriate? Explain why and provide an example.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Part II: DQ week 3
Response of 150 words for each question.
1. This video offers a look at training, in the corrections academy, for new corrections officers in New Jersey. After you view it, please post your thoughts.
https://youtu.be/eJDNlemeZDc
This video is approximately one-hour long. It provides a very good look at what life is like for prisoners in solitary confinement.After you watch this video, please post your thoughts on solitary confinement. This can include:
https://youtu.be/Q7ajzshi54
2. Why do prisons use solitary confinement?
3. What are some real or potential negative consequences of solitary confinement?
4. While I understand the occasional necessity for solitary confinement in some situations, this video made me, in a sense, very sad for those who have to experience it. Some prisons use solitary confinement as a means of punishing problematic prisoners, or by keeping potentially very dangerous prisoners out of the way of harming others or themselves. However, this confinement can, and will, have vastly negative consequences in the long term should a prisoner be in solitary for too long. Humans are social by nature. Even the most shy introvert still needs some form of human touch, connection, and interaction. By depriving someone of this for too long it can cause a sort of a psychosis or a mental breakdown. They may become unable to function in a normal society because of the mental trauma they have endured. Class, what are your thoughts?
5. I understand where you are coming from, being a fellow introvert who prefers to be on my own rather than in a crowd. However, there is something comforting about knowing that people are accessible when the need arises. Also, our own circadian rhythms depend greatly on our ability to tell what time of day it is and how many days have passed. This is also necessary for our own sanity. With that being said, we can hardly blame any who might go crazy while having to experience the restrictions of solitary confinement. Class, in what ways might solitary confinement be replaced with another, less psychologically damaging punishment?
6. You make an excellent point about how solitary can be a good thing depending on the inmate. It is much like putting a child in time out in another room away from people if what they are doing is being disruptive. However, I think that, in many cases, the negative psychological consequences may outweigh the potential good of separating problem inmates. However, let me ask you this question as well; if an exceedingly dangerous criminal is sentenced to death row, and they are violent and problematic to the point they are a danger to themselves and the other prisoners, does the psychological ramifications really even matter if they are in solitary?
Assume the role of correctional officers at a maximum-security prison. A university professor has asked you to speak to her class about your experiences as correctional officers. To prepare for the visit, she has sent you the questions that the students will ask you.
7. How does the prison environment influence the way you ensure security and custody in your prison?
8. What methods of secure custody do you use in your prison?
9. How do you ensure professionalism among the corrections staff?
10. Do you work for a private or non-private prison? How do your daily work experiences differ from those of others according to the type of prison you work for?