2.3

Question 1

five types of sentences

Answer 1

• life sentences
• mandatory life sentences
• indeterminate sentence
• determinate sentence
• suspended sentence

Question 2

life sentences

Answer 2

• most serious punishment a uk court can hand down
• minimum time an offender must spend in prison before being released on parole
• 2018 = 10,000 prisoners served one of these sentences
• account for around 14% of the prison population

Question 3

mandatory life sentences

Answer 3

• compulsory
• must be given to those found guilty of murder
• discretionary life sentences can be given for serious offences such as rape

Question 4

indeterminate sentence

Answer 4

• minimum time the offender must serve in prison
• offenders have no automatic right to be released after the minimum term (parole board decides)
• 2018 = 10,000 prisoners

Question 5

determinate sentence

Answer 5

• fixed length
• most prisoners serve determinate sentence
• 2018 = 65,000 prisoners
• not all the sentence is served in prison

Question 6

suspended sentence

Answer 6

• offender is given a prison sentence but does not go directly to prison
• court can impose requirements (rehab)
• offender will be sent to prison to serve their original sentence if a crime is committed during the suspension period
• 2018 = 16% people convicted of a serious offence received a suspended sentence

Question 7

imprisonment - deterrance

Answer 7

yes:
- risk of going to prison deters people from committing crime

no:
- re-offending rates are high
- for example, states with death penalty have highest crime rates in US

Question 8

imprisonment - protection

Answer 8

yes:
- takes the offender out of society

no:
- prisoners can still harm other inmates, or guards
- prison is school of crime

Question 9

imprisonment - retribution

Answer 9

yes:
- punishes people for their crimes by taking away freedom
- imposes unpleasant living conditions on them

no:
- society disagrees on the correct length of sentence for different crimes

Question 10

imprisonment - reperation

Answer 10

yes:
- Prisoner’s Earning Act 2011 states prisoners work to prepare for their eventual release can be made to pay a portion to victim support services

no:
- few prisoners have the opportunity to work outside of the prison

Question 11

imprisonment - rehabilitation

Answer 11

yes:
- longer sentences enable prisoners to access rehabilitation programmes

no:
- short sentences
- lack of education + training facilities
- lack of funding
- issues of addiction and mental health not being tackled