However, with the passage of revised death penalty statutes and the increase in violent crimes, the juvenile justice system has seen a shift toward stronger policies and punishments. ... The court established three criteria necessary to label a punishment as cruel and unusual... " - It is a punishment originally understood by the Framers of the Constitution to be cruel and unusual - There is societal consensus that the punishment offends civilized standards of human decency... - It is (1) grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime and (2) makes no measurable contribution to acc...

• Word Count: 2175
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Ideally, the insanity defense echoes a societal inclination to provide alternative sentencing by providing mental health treatment for mentally ill criminals, rather than utilizing traditional incapacitation punishment for criminals whose mental illness was the direct cause of their criminal behavior. ... Hence, the insanity defense reflects a crime sentencing policy that that identifies there are unique situations in which the need for treatment over punishment is preferable (Butler, 2011). ... At the time of the index offense the defendant was laboring under such a defect of reason, from dis...

• Word Count: 1113
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Today, many of these punishments may seem antiquated, but the basic scope of the protection remains the same. ... Inmates have the right to be free from sexual crimes, including sexual harassment. ... The Eighth Amendment has been the topic of much controversy mostly concerning the death penalty, but it also covers the treatment of those convicted of crimes. It is thought that the Eighth Amendment was written to eliminate torture which had been used in dealing with those convicted of crimes. ... The framers of the Constitution did not give us specific instructions on what was to be considered ...

• Word Count: 2215
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Of the approximate one hundred demonstrators, Johnson alone was charged with a crime, the desecration of a venerated object in violation of the Texas Penal Code. ... The flag has occupied the position as the symbol of our Nation for more the two hundred years; moreover, to desecrate such a symbol without punishment would be unjust. Also dissenting, Justice Stevens questions, "Is it the power of the state or the federal government to decide the punishment on such an act?" ... The way to preserve the flag's special role would not be suited in the punishment of those who feel differently, bu...

• Word Count: 900
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This constitutional right to privacy is an attempt to establish a balance of an "individual's reasonable expectation of privacy and society's right to control crime and protect the public." ... Ideally, the result of the Miranda trial has saved many innocent citizens from confessing to a crime that they did not commit (Berman & Murphy, 2003, p. 478). However, it has also made it much easier for criminals to escape judicial punishment due to loopholes and mistakes of the police. ... It is easy to claim that many people who have committed a violent crime are not behind bars due to a ...

• Word Count: 1330
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Physician-assisted suicide is generally recognized as illegal under the parameters of homicide, however it is very difficult to meet all of the elements of the crime and conviction subsequently becomes nearly impossible. ... At the time of the appellate courts hearing of the Campbell appeal, there was no other codified law expressing what crime an assisted suicide would fall under and the homicide charges were dismissed. ... The American people are notoriously weary of it's implementation, as can be seen in the case of capital punishment. ...

• Word Count: 1550
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The members of Westboro Baptist Church ("Westboro"), led by Fred Phelps, picketed near the funeral to demonstrate their view that "the United States is overly tolerant of sin and that God kills American soldiers as punishment." ...

• Word Count: 3341
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: Undergraduate