Part 1:
Retribution is the belief that offenders should be punished by inflicting the same amount of pain on the offender as was inflicted onto the victim. Rehabilitation is the belief that social, spiritual, and biological influences should be addressed for each offender to make him or her a productive member of society. In this assignment, it is your responsibility to prepare an analysis of 5-7 pages on the arguments for treatment or punishment of offenders in dealing with the social problem of crime.
Assignment Guidelines:
• Address the following in your analysis of 5-7 pages on the different rationales for various treatments and punishments.
o What are 3 specific differences between the arguments for rehabilitation and retribution? Explain.
o What are 3 specific similarities between the arguments for rehabilitation and retribution? Explain.
o Examine 2 of the social arguments used to support both positions.
o What are 3 specific philosophical or social issues that could be used to support your analysis?
o Your analysis must contain at least 4 references using APA style.
• Compile your findings, analysis, and references into a Word document of 5-7 pages, and submit the file to your instructor.
Part 2:
When sentencing an offender, a judge must evaluate a number of different variables to impose an appropriate course of punishment or treatment. Using the textbook, library, Internet, or Web resources, research the variables that should be considered at the time an offender is sentenced to ensure that justice is served. Please discuss 5 variables.
Assignment Guidelines:
• In 4-6 paragraphs, address the following:
o What are 5 variables evaluated by judicial authorities to sentence offenders?
o Which variable do you feel is the most important for correctly sentencing offenders? Explain.
o Which variable do you feel is the least important for correctly sentencing offenders? Explain.
o Are there any variables that you do not feel should be used when sentencing offenders? Why or why not?
• Post a new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your responses pertaining to the above information.
• Comment on at least 2 other students' posts, and explain to them whether or not you agree with their variable selections. Use research evidence to support your responses.
Part 3:
Common Assignment: Written assignment analyzing the impact of the US Supreme Court decisions on the management of prisons
Prepare a written analysis on the impact of the US Supreme Court decisions on the management of prisons (8-10 pages). You are asked to explain the prison management structure and disciplinary process as applied in most prison cases and as directed by the US Supreme Court decision in Sandin v. Conner (1995) and other US Supreme Court cases. Consider such sanctions as loss of job, segregation for a specific amount of time, and loss of commissary privileges.
Assignment Guidelines:
• Read through Wolff v. McDonnell (1976) and Sandin v. Conner (1995).
• Apply the decisions of these Supreme Court cases to the following punishments:
o Job loss
o Scheduled segregation
o Loss of commissary privileges
• For each of these punishments, provide the following based on the decisions of the above to 2 cases:
o When is this an appropriate sentence?
o When is this protected by the U.S. Constitution?
o What are 2 examples that you can take from the Supreme Court decisions that support your arguments?
• Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.
• Compile your responses into a Word document of 8-10 pages, and submit the file to your instructor.
Part 4:
You receive a complaint from an inmate who claims that his case manager would not give him stamps and envelopes to mail a complaint against five correctional officers who took his playing cards and domino chips during recreation. The inmate also complained that the notary only comes to the prison 2 days a week and that this interfered with his due process rights of access to the courts.
You look into the complaint and find out that the inmate had money to purchase the envelopes and stamps but that he spent them on soft drinks and chips in the prison commissary. The staff is upset because the inmate just mailed out several Christmas cards and letters. The inmate now has no funds to purchase the requested items. As the reviewing official, you decide to review the allegations.
Explain the rights that inmates have under the Fifth Amendment to access to the courts and what this entails. Address such issues as whether inmates have an absolute right to legal items whenever they request them. Do inmates have a right to a notary 7 days a week?
Assignment Guidelines:
• In 3-5 paragraphs, address the following:
o What rights do inmates have under the Fifth Amendment to court access? Explain.
o If the above situation were taken to court, what do you think would be the ruling? Why?
o When does a request for legal supplies become unreasonable? Explain.
• Post a new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your responses pertaining to the above information.
• Comment on at least 2 other students' posts, and explain whether or not you agree with their case analysis and their explanation of what constitutes an unreasonable request for legal supplies.