A crime is an act committed or an omission of duty, injurious to the public welfare, for which punishment is prescribed by law'. In the scenario, Helen and Tom had committed various crimes, and therefore confront the penalties inflicted by the state upon both Helen and Tom for committing numerous criminal offences. There are three main types of categories for punishments and they are, custodial sentences, semi-custodial sentences and non-custodial sentences. There are also other forms of punishments that help modify the offender's behaviour so that they can fit back into society.
Custodial sentences are introduced for serious crimes that require the detention of an offender in a place especially set aside for their actions. Custodial sentences are used for punishments such as, imprisonment and periodic detention. One of the possible punishments that could be justifiable for Helen would be imprisonment, mainly because of the level of crime committed. As a result of the removal of the death penalty in New South Wales in 1955, imprisonment became the most severe punishment imposed by our legal system. Imprisonment is the process of detaining and offender in gaol for a specific amount of time. This punishment allows offenders to be isolated from society so that they may not re-offend for a period of time. However, often imprisonment does not rehabilitate offenders, but instead, may have a negative effect on the offender's behaviour. Consequently, imprisonment would not only disadvantage the offender, it would also impose hardship on the family or friends of the offender, especially if the offender was the main earner. Imprisonment is also one of the most expensive forms of punishments. It costs over ($) 50000 dollars to keep a prisoner in gaol for one year. Another possible punishment that is suitable for Helen would be periodic detention. If, however, Helen's defence reduced her liability, from murder to manslaughter, the punishment can be reduced from imprisonment to periodic detention.