ac2.3: assess how forms of punishment meet the aims of punishment - discharge

Question 1

what is a discharge?

Answer 1

• given for the least serious offences
• the person is released from court without any further action

Question 2

absolute discharge

Answer 2

the court decides not to impose a punishment as the experience of going to court is deemed as punishment enough

Question 3

conditional discharge

Answer 3

if the offender commits another crime, they can be sentenced for the old and the new offence

Question 4

case study - the 1892 thirsk rail crash

Answer 4

• james holmes had been awake for 36 hours, his infant daughter rose had taken ill and died
• his job was to signal to allow trains to pass, but he fell asleep during his shift. he should have turned the signal off but it was left on and so the train continued, crashing into the goods train which was stationary on the rail
• originally he was given a sentence of manslaughter, however this was changed to an absolute discharge when his circumstances were accounted for
• the sentence is justified as he wasn’t truly at fault. he told his workplace what happened to his daughter but he was made to work. this was negligence by the workplace

Question 5

discharges meet retribution

Answer 5

• a conditional discharge could be argued as getting revenge on the offender. they know that if they re-offend then they will be sentenced

Question 6

discharges don’t meet retribution

Answer 6

• a discharge might not be serious enough to fulfill this aim. it may not get revenge for the victim or their family

Question 7

discharges meet rehabilitation

Answer 7

• could the experience of going to court and going through the criminal justice system be enough to rehabilitate someone?

Question 8

discharges don’t meet rehabilitation

Answer 8

• a discharge doesn’t seek to alter behaviour, it doesn’t try to resolve the cause of the criminal behaviour
• if the crime was due to an addiction or a mental health condition, then this punishment doesn’t get to the cause and meet rehabilitation, a community sentence would work better for these people

Question 9

discharges meet deterrence

Answer 9

• they’re the lowest level of punishment and are in effect a warning to the individual about their future conduct. a conditional discharge may be enough to deter someone from committing crime
• in general, there is a low rate of reoffending after a discharge as it is usually a first offence. this is often due to the experience of going to court being enough for them to mend their ways. this can be the case even for an absolute discharge

Question 10

discharges don’t meet deterrence

Answer 10

• the thirsk rail crash - james didn’t need to be deterred, so does the sentence actually meet the aim?
• especially for an absolute discharge, there is no physical punishment. the individual may feel like they have gotten away with the crime and decide to commit more

Question 11

discharges meet public protection

Answer 11

• if the discharge is enough to stop the individual from reoffending then the public is protected

Question 12

discharges don’t meet public protection

Answer 12

• there is no physical punishment such as prison where the public is protected from people as they cannot leave. with a discharge, this doesn’t happen

Question 13

discharges meet reparation

Answer 13

• the act of going to court, pleading guilty and/or showing remorse may be enough to make amends

Question 14

discharges don’t meet reparation

Answer 14

• in this situation, there is no making amends, the offender gets no punishment

Question 15

discharges meet denunciation

Answer 15

• some argue that the process of going through the court system and trial is enough to reinforce the moral boundaries of society, it can act as boundary maintenance

Question 16

discharges don’t meet denunciation

Answer 16

• it could be argued that because there is no actual punishment, it doesn’t actually stress that what the individual has done is wrong