Inconsistencies in Sentencing in America Today

Abstract

This project explores the punishment and sentencing processes of the American criminal justice system, including the purpose of sentencing, the structure of sentencing, and most importantly the problems and impact inconsistencies have in the sentencing possess. The focus of this project will be on sentencing disparity, what causes it, why it is a problem in the criminal justice system today, and several solutions that could help fix it. A situation in which two individuals commit similar crimes but do not receive similar punishments is known as sentencing disparity, and it happens more often than one would think. Sentencing disparity is the result of a wide amount of circumstances stemming from but not limited to things such as : judicial discretion, mitigating circumstances, aggravating circumstances, how the crime affected the victim, location of the crime committed, federal court versus a state court, race and gender, etc. In my project I will give a few ways that I think would help diminish sentencing disparity such as giving less discretion to judges and replacing that discretion with a universally used grid/system of determining a sentence that is used by all states in the US, and to change the minimum age at which a juvenile could be charged as an adult as a federal law; synonymous in all states.