After you score the variables for this case(score has already been done and has been attached), and establish what the guidelines recommend, re-visit your initial sentence in light of the issues and research we discussed in class. Ask yourself:
My initial sentence: Split-sentence between jail and probation. 4 months in jail and 2 years probation. While on probation he will need to pay court cost/attorney fees, drug and alcohol test while on probation, and pay probation fees. He will be required to get a job 14 days after release from jail and maintain a minimum 25 hour minimum work week and obtain his GED. Also, no further contact with his accomplish James B.
a) What factors did you initially consider that are consistent with the sentencing guidelines exercise?
b) Equally important, what factors did you overlook/ignore and why?
c) Finally, what sentence would you give IMA FELON now in light of all of this information and the understanding you now have of the sentencing process?
Write a 5-7 page paper discussing what you have learned from this sentencing exercise and the questions in 5a-c. The paper should review and specifically discuss how the exercise connects to the various issues in Stohr’s chapter on sentencing, in addition to other materials we have read/discussed in class, and the various handouts on the CJ system we have discussed from class. You should be striving to connect the class materials to the sentence you would give-meaning what is the connection between your sentencing decision and evidence-based practice in the field of corrections. In addition, you must be reflective about you have specifically learned from this exercise.
Guidelines:
Specific Requirements
- Typed– double spaced with 1.25 inch margins on left/right and 1 inch margin top/bottom (standard default for most Word docs…but double check)
- 5-7 pages. I think you can accomplish the goals of the paper within this limit.
- Use a 12 point sized font: 11 pt is for cramming within the limit; 10 pt and below is microscopic and verges on the preposterous; 14 pt raises concerns that you are having a different sort of writing problem and 16 pt should be restricted to title page only. Get the point?
- Keep quotes to a minimum: no more than two for the paper. Use your own words—it is better to state in your own words what an author is saying, rather than paraphrasing in ways that not only make it clear that you are using the author’s words, but that you really don’t know what the author is writing.
The following is taken from the OU Kresge Library Website which not only defines plagiarism but also offers guidelines for avoiding plagiarism:
Plagiarism is defined by the Modern Language Association (MLA) as “the use of another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work” [MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., p. 66]. Examples of plagiarism include copying from a source word for word without citing the original source, as well as paraphrasing an author’s words or even ideas without giving appropriate credit.
See: http://library.oakland.edu/tutorials/studentwriting.htm
5)Works cited: You may use the citation style you are most comfortable with for this paper. Just make a notation on the bibliography page which one you have employed. Go to the link above in #4 and there is a listing of styles and the formats for citations within each style. But remember, the only literature you can use is what we have assigned/read in class. (Book: Third Edition: Corrections by Stohr, Walsh, Hemmens)
I have more handouts and pictures of the book chapters if needed!!