chap 8

Question 1

capital punishment

Answer 1

Inflicting deadly injury as punishment for criminal conduct.

Question 2

aggravating circumstances

Answer 2

any fact or circumstance that increases the severity or culpability of a criminal act.
ex: Repeat Offenses, Vulnerability of Victim, lack of remorse

Question 3

recidivist

Answer 3

One who is a habitual criminal.

Question 4

sanctuary

Answer 4

In the Middle Ages in England, a sanctuary was a religious place where criminals could take refuge. The concept of sanctuary later broadened to include asylum for refugees

Question 5

cruel and unusual punishment

Answer 5

a limitation on punishment for criminal conduct

Question 6

Procedural due process

Answer 6

A claim under the Fourteenth Amendment that there is an absence of fair procedures regulating state conduct
Requires a fair hearing.

Question 7

forfeiture

Answer 7

Going back to early English law, the concept and use of seizing the property that was used to commit a crime

Question 8

Benefit of Clergy

Answer 8

A medieval limit on capital punishment. People convicted of a capital crime entitled to claim the benefit of clergy (by the fifteenth century, anyone who could read) could not be executed for their offense. By the end of the eighteenth century, the privilege had been eliminated for most crimes.

Question 9

“three strikes” laws

Answer 9

Laws that impose increased penalties for multiple felony convictions

Question 10

Corporal punishment

Answer 10

Inflicting nondeadly physical injury as punishment for criminal conduct.
Ex: Whipping or dismemberment

Question 11

Substantive due process

Answer 11

A claim under the Fourteenth Amendment that state conduct is so brutal, demeaning, and harmful as to shock the conscience.

Question 12

mitigating circumstances

Answer 12

Factors that lessen the severity or culpability of a criminal act
ex: age, mental/emotional disturbance, no criminal record, mental retardation

Question 13

Proportionality Principle

Answer 13

Compares the gravity of the offense and the severity of the penalty to sentences imposed for other crimes and to sentencing practices in other jurisdictions.

Question 14

Corporal Punishment in Prisons

Answer 14

prison inmates have none of the “community and legal constraints” that provide safeguards against the sort of abuses the Eighth Amendment prohibits.

Question 15

capital punishment is constitutional if:

Answer 15

The victim dies

Question 16

capital punishment does not count with:

Answer 16

in individual crimes such as: rape
underage (18) when the crime happened
insane at the time of execution/mental retardation
rape of child where child does not die

Question 17

death penalty moratorium concerns:

Answer 17

innocence
racial bias
effects on victims’ families

Question 18

Imprisonment as Punishment

Answer 18

Juveniles may not be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole
Offenders may not be imprisoned beyond the statutory maximum period solely because of inability to pay a fine.

Question 19

Monetary fines

Answer 19

Monetary fines payable by the convicted offender are frequently used.
In most states, the maximum fine for any designated criminal act is set by statute.

Question 20

PA 3 strikes

Answer 20

Pennsylvania has two- and three-strikes laws that mandate minimum terms of 10 and 25 years, respectively.

Question 21

pa 3 strikes felonies

Answer 21

If the defendant has two previous “serious” felony convictions, a life sentence is mandatory

Question 22

serious felony vs non serious felony

Answer 22

Serious felonies: rape and murder, burglary, and other thefts.
nonserious felonies: petty theft or even possession of a minor amount of drugs for personal use.