150 words reply  agree or disagree

I don’t think judges are given too much discretion when it comes to sentencing. The crime committed by the defendant comes with a standard set of sentencing guidelines and the Judge is given direction by prosecutors, probation officers, and defense attorneys. The factors the judge takes into account are repeat offenders, criminal history if one does exist, the context of the crime and how/why it was committed, the defendant’s socioeconomic status in society and the defendant’s point of view from the crime committed.

I believe the crime should fit the offender as every offender is different and to reduce the rate of recidivism the punishment will not affect all individuals in the same way. 

A judge may order probation, jail time, prison time, death or community service based upon the crime and individual who committed the crime. 

2. A determinate sentence is where a sentence is given for a fixed amount of time. The time will not change. An indeterminate sentence is a sentence that has a minimum and maxim amount of time to be served based on the crime committed and can change. The pros to a determinate sentence are that it will not change and is fixed meaning no more time will be served. Cons is that it will not be changed due to it being determinate and set. The pro to an indeterminate is it could be reduced to the minimum time required to serve, but it could be increased based on a parole boards decision such as 20 years to life as a sentence meaning the time is not guaranteed to be the minimum or the maximum.  

3. I think the mandatory minimum does serve a purpose for first-time offenders, but probably not so much for repeat offenders. I think the thought of being behind bars for a first-time offense would deter a repeat offense based upon the individual. I don’t think the minimum sentence would deter a repeat offender to not commit the crime as they know they could get the minimum based on the judge and offense.  

References 

Find Law. Types of Sentencing. 2018. https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/types-of-sentences.html

Sentencing Overview. 2018. APUS. https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/sentencing-overview.html

Nolo. Indeterminate vs Determinate Prison Sentences Explained. 2018.  https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/determinate-sentences.cfm