Lighter Sentences Research Articles

Women Accused of Homicide: The Impact of Race, Relationship to Victim, and Prior Physical Abuse

This study analyzes data collected from a Public Defender’s office in a Mid-Atlantic city, which represents females accused of homicide (N = 48) and defended between the years 1994-2011. Further, this study includes qualitative interviews of the Public Defenders who work in the Homicide Division of this jurisdiction and who defended the women accused of these murders in the courts. Results show that most cases involved intra-racial homicides of current or former intimate partners. Women who killed a boyfriend or husband and women who were diagnosed with battered woman syndrome (BWS) received lighter sentences. Interviews with Public Defenders highlighted the importance of the relationship between victims and offenders in the handling of homicide cases by the court.

The line between fornication and prostitution: The prostitute versus the Subaşi (police chief)

This paper examines the approaches to prostitution within the frame of legal norms and social life in the Ottoman Empire via the case study of a Muslim woman who was adjudged to be a prostitute at a court in 1580. Compared with similar case reports, this case study also demonstrates the struggle of a prostitute for her rights against the unjust and arbitrary practices applied by officers and common people, which allows us to think about gender mainstreaming. One of the results of this paper establishes that there are no special regulations about prostitution in Islamic Law. Although it is viewed as ‘adultery’ in Hanefi Islamic Law, prostitution is understood to be punished with light sentences since most prostitutes were not married. The severe penalties in Islamic Law were designed to prevent married women’s adultery. Upon marriage a woman grants or transfers her right of sexual intercourse to her husband and if she lets another person use that right, it is seen as allowing someone to steal her husband’s property. In the case of unmarried women and prostitutes, the fee taken is counted as a gift or other consideration. The paper attempts to explain why the concept of prostitution did not occur in Islamic Law and why it was regulated in the Ottoman Empire as a part of private life.

Do Judges Vary Their Burden of Proof? Evidence from Federal Bench Trials.

The legal standard of proof in any criminal trial is reasonable doubt, but economic models argue for a variable standard. Two economic arguments are tested with data on federal trials over the last decade. First, a trier of fact should respond to a more serious charge with a higher burden of proof. In bench trials, judges display a lower conviction probability for more serious charges. Conversely, jurors, who are instructed to ignore sentencing, do not. Second, entrusting a trier of fact with sentencing discretion might create the incentive to on a verdict by convicting but imposing a light sentence when guilt is not fully established. A joint test of whether judges in bench trials both convict more frequently and impose more lenient sentences during periods of greater discretion is not significant, and judges do not appear to be issuing compromise verdicts.

Does the Professional Manager Blow the Whistle on Founding Families? New Evidence on the Dark Side of Family-Controlled Firm

This paper investigates the relationship between family firm, internal, external governance and corporate fraud. We focus on the judicial and market attitude toward professional top managers, not controlling shareholder, involved in corporate fraud, especially in family-controlled business group in Korea, Chaebol. We find that top managers receive lighter sentences. The probability that a professional manager goes to prison is 35.7%p less than that of a controlling shareholder. Moreover, no top management ever actually goes to prison at an appellate court. The possibility that a professional manager is held pretrial drops by 39.2%p. Secondly, almost 55% of the professional top managers involved in corporate crimes come back to the position in the near future after sentencing decisions. Almost 84% of resurrected professional managers in the market had worked for the Chaebol-affiliated firms at the moment of their corporate crimes. More surprisingly, 87% of returned Chaebol managers take the executive position at their affiliated firm. Our findings suggest a possibility that the ill-functioned legal system and market for professional managers helps large shareholders such as founding families capture them to serves family interests.

Animal abuse: Public employee kills a cat with a shovel. Commentary on the Judgment 12/2015, of 12th January, of the Criminal Court N. 4 of Valladolid

In 2013 the City of La Cistérniga (Valladolid) receives a call from a neighbor warning of the presence of a sick cat in the garden of a community. A public employee arrives at the scene, equipped with a shovel, and he stroke several blows to the little animal and then put it into a garbage bag, already dead. All this occurred in the presence of many neighbors, including children. The facts were reported by the Observatorio de Justicia y Defensa Animal to the Public Prosecution, that opened criminal investigations which were subsequently referred to the Judge and processed as preliminary proceedings. Despite the seriousness of the facts, the public prosecution and the defense of the accused reached an agreement according to which the Criminal Court issued a judgment with a light sentence. It is the first time – at least, known – that a public employee in the exercise of his function is condemned for animal abuse in Spain.

Sentencing discretion and burdens of proof

In the US, judges typically retain sentencing discretion in criminal cases, but in some states this discretion is given to juries. One criticism of jury sentencing is that jurors will be tempted to issue “compromise verdicts,” where they return a guilty verdict but a light sentence when they are uncertain about the facts of a case. A simple expected utility model shows that any fact finder with sentencing discretion should engage in behavior that is observationally equivalent to a compromise verdict. Intuitively, the fact finder chooses a more lenient sentence than the punishment that fits the crime because he wants to mitigate the potential cost of a wrongful conviction; in turn, a lower cost of a wrongful conviction leads him to reduce his standard of proof. Although critics of jury sentencing intuit the risk of compromise, a bench trial poses the same risk for a judge. Alternatively, the jury trial format (jury verdict, judge sentence) can lessen the risk of compromise if juries are denied punishment information.

Winning the Fight but Losing the Battle: Beyond the Successful Prosecution of Unlawful Carnal Knowledge of the Girl-Child in Nigeria

This paper examines the attitude of Nigerian courts to sentencing in the offence of unlawful carnal knowledge of the girl-child. It compares the positions of the two criminal statutes in Nigeria to unveil the sentencing limit allowable in Nigerian criminal jurisprudence and notes that the courts have habitually imposed far lower sentences than contemplated in the statutes. The paper concludes that awarding lighter sentences in cases of child rape in Nigeria has not served to remedy the mischief of male adult taking advantage of the innocence of children to defile them and that such sentencing pattern is against public policy in Nigeria. It recommends the way to correct this anomaly by appellate courts, so as to deter would-be pedophiles in Nigeria.

The power and the misuse of power by China's local procuratorates in anticorruption

Previous literature mainly blames the party commission's leadership and the CDI's leading role in anticorruption for China's procuratorate's ineffective anticorruption work, which only reflects part of the picture. This article has analyzed the interactions between local procuratorates and other entities in anticorruption based upon findings from interviewing prosecutors, CDI officers, and suspects, and conducting content analysis of internal records and files, procedural and substantive rules regarding anticorruption and the work of the procuratorate. It argues that there exist balances between local procuratorates and other entities; and local procuratorates have strong institutional motives from the evaluation system, fundraising needs and legal loopholes to manipulate and transact the power in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases with little supervision, which contributes to the selective prosecution and light sentence in corruption.

Tom Hayes: Trial by Fire

Tom Hayes: Trial by Fire

PENINGKATAN DISIPLIN KERJA OLEH PIMPINAN DALAM ORGANISASI

The writing is on the background backs by the lack of effective discipline that is given by the leadership in the organization. This research aims to obtain information about: (1) It still looks employees who came late to the office. Hours to come to work at 08.00 am while employees there who came at 08.30 pm even at 09.00 am. (2) The responsibility that is less than employees in doing the work that has been given. (3) It still looks employees are less adherent to regulatory agency that is not visible from the work accomplished in accordance with the predetermined targets. (4) It still looks employees who come into the office just took a hiatus. Efforts in improving labor discipline are: (1) Negative Approach, (2) Positive Approach, (3) Disciplining Yourself, (4) Creating a safe atmosphere and (5) Providing Penalties such light sentences and penalties were severe penalties. Key word : Work Disipline

Sentencing Discretion and Burdens of Proof

Typically, judges retain sentencing discretion in criminal cases, but in some states this discretion is given to juries. One criticism of jury sentencing is that jurors will be tempted to issue verdicts, where they return a guilty verdict but a light sentence when they are uncertain about the facts of a case. A simple expected utility model shows that, under reasonable assumptions, any fact finder with sentencing discretion (juror or judge) should engage in behavior that is observationally equivalent to a compromise verdict. Intuitively, the fact finder chooses a more lenient sentence than the punishment that fits the crime because he wants to mitigate the potential cost of a wrongful conviction; in turn, a lower cost of a wrongful conviction leads him to reduce his standard of proof. Whether compromise verdicts occur in practice remains an open empirical question.

Judicial Decision Making: A Dynamic Reputation Approach

We seek to contribute to an understanding of how judicial elections affect the incentives and decisions of judges. We develop a theoretical model suggesting that judges who are concerned about their reputation will tend to decide against their prior decisions as they approach elections. That is, judges who imposed a large number of severe sentences in the past and are thus perceived to be strict will tend to impose less severe sentences prior to elections. Conversely, judges who imposed a large number of light sentences in the past and are thus perceived to be lenient will tend to impose more severe sentences prior to elections. Using data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, we test, and find evidence consistent with, the predictions of our model.

Implications of Politically Exposed Persons participation in 2015 Elections in Nigeria

In May 2007, a number of governors completed their eight-year term of office. Having lost the immunity conferred on them by Section 308 of the Constitution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited them for investigation on the basis of several petitions alleging diversion of public funds running to billions of naira. Some reported for interrogation while others sought interlocutory and perpetual injunctions restraining the EFCC from arresting, investigating or prosecuting them in any manner whatsoever and howsoever. Among those who were charged to court only two have been convicted and given light sentences. The majority of the defendants have continued to manipulate the criminal justice system to frustrate their trial. To the eternal shame of the country one of the ex-governors who got a clean bill of health by a Nigerian court was later convicted and jailed by a British court. Out of the two, who jumped bail in the United Kingdom, one is now a Senator of the Republic. Not unexpectedly, the Nigerian people have justifiably blamed lawyers and judges for frustrating the anti-graft agencies from successfully prosecuting politically exposed persons and other members of the ruling class accused of corrupt practices and money laundering. In this presentation we shall examine how the neo-colonial legal system is regularly exploited by senior lawyers in favour of rich and powerful criminal suspects to the detriment of accountability and transparency in the society. And the questions remain: Is there a way out of the woods? Can this trend change as Nigeria approaches 2015 Elections? What are the implications of this trend? Even the judiciary has not helped matters together with the agencies saddled with the responsibility of checkmating corruption and prosecuting corrupt individuals. These issues pose great dangers for 2015 Elections. This is because many among them are going to stand or sponsor cronies for 2015 Elections in order to protect their loots and still remain relevant in political matters in post 2015 Nigeria. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p207

A Deviation from the Former Adversarial Trial: The Concept of Plea Bargaining and its Contemporary Relevance

In its most conventional and general sense, plea bargaining refers to pre-trial negotiations between the prosecution and the defence during which the accused agrees to plead guilty in return for certain concessions promised by the prosecutor: usually to drop or reduce some charges, or to recommend a specific sentence or to refrain from making any sentence recommendation. Since ultimately both affect the dispositional phase of the criminal proceedings by affecting the sentence, plea bargaining in this project will be taken to imply the waiver of the right to a trial in exchange for reduction in sentence.Plea bargaining is widely resorted to in the United States of America, so much so that ninety to ninety five percent of the criminal cases end with negotiated agreements rather than courtroom trials. By virtue of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005, plea bargaining has been introduced in India by way of insertion of Chapter XXIA into the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 [hereinafter Cr. P.C.], which has come into effect from July 5, 2006.The introduction of plea bargaining in the Indian criminal justice system is largely a response to the deplorable status quo, reflected in the delay in disposal of criminal cases and appeals, the huge arrears of cases and the appalling plight of under trial prisoners in jails. Critics of the plea bargaining system, however, allege that the system leads to excessive and undeserved leniency in the sentencing of admitted criminals, dilutes the deterrent effect of law and is coercive insofar as it induces the accused either to plead guilty in return for a lighter sentence or to waive the right to a trial in return for some other advantage. Others simply contend that the outcome of a criminal case should not be affected by lack of resources and that haggling over the price of a guilty plea is in principle wrong.No doubt efficiency and speedy disposal of cases are important and desirable goals. The question that is considered in this note is whether they are worth the perceived costs of plea bargaining. To this end, an attempt is made to examine whether there is any inherent impropriety in the system of plea negotiation, as also to understand the Indian avatar of plea bargaining and appraise it in view of the traditional objections to any system of plea bargaining.

Third Strikers under Three Strikes and You’re Out: Politics and Prosecutions

Between 1994 and 2012, California's Three Strikes Law mandated that first and second strikes must be either violent or serious, but allowed any felony to qualify as a third strike. Moreover, defendants could have been struck out on a wobbler offense, which granted discretion to the District Attorney to determine whether the offense should be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. Starting in 1994, hotly contested elections for California's District Attorneys often featured position taking on third strike cases with some candidates promising to strike out on any and all felonies while others positioned themselves away from felo- nies that were not serious or violent. As several legal scholars noted, some repeat offenders convicted of minor crimes for their third strike were sent away for life, while others received much lighter sentences. Disparities in the application of the law appeared to depend on geography among the 58 California jurisdictions. Using California Department of Corrections data and other county data we find a relationship between county ideology, county finances, and the number of third strike convicts incarcerated on a third strike from non-serious, non-violent offense and wobbler offenses.

Papua

Papua Muridan S. Widjojo (bio) The year 2011 in the provinces of Papua and West Papua was politically noisy. Papua occupied the headlines of a number of national electronic and print media sources more often than in the previous year. First, the cycle of violence conducted by both the state apparatus and non-state armed groups predominated. On one side, the management of politics and security in the provinces was still colored by state repression and alleged human rights violations. Impunity was maintained and laws could not be enforced, as law enforcers often failed to indicate the perpetrators' identity, calling them "unknown actors." When perpetrators who are members of state security institutions have been identified and known publicly, the court has tended to punish them with light sentences. On the other side, the non-state armed groups became more aggressive. The year saw more members of the police and military becoming victims of attacks by the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka [OPM])- National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasiona [TPN]). Second, the political impasse caused by mutual mistrust between the government and the pro-independence Papuans continued. The special autonomy law implemented in 2001 has failed to restore trust. The impasse is mainly due to independence demands being approached from the perspective of a security framework (securitization). Most of the government's recent policies were also influenced by the securitization policy, which further undermined the spirit of reconciliation embedded in the special autonomy law. Third, industrial relations conflicts between workers and the Freeport Indonesia mine intensified. The root of the conflict is wages, which are considered the lowest in relation to other Freeport companies outside Indonesia. A phenomenal strike of the workers' association lasted roughly six months, and the company was forced to halt its operations for about one month. The strike began in July, and negotiations for a new wage structure were concluded at the end of December 2011. The strike ended and the workers enjoyed a wage increase of 37 percent. It was a Christmas gift for both sides. Fourth, the political will of the government to employ peaceful means of solving the Papua conflict appeared more clearly at the end of the year. On 9 November 2011, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that the government was prepared to hold open dialogue with Papuan leaders. This statement confirmed the previous policy in which the president appointed special envoys [End Page 398] for Papua and a special unit under the president to handle the political and economic problems of Papua. Overall the new approach has not yet had a positive impact on the political situation in Papua, primarily because the old approaches have not been terminated. The Papua People's Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua [MRP]) also remained a protracted problem in Papua. The official term of MRP members should have ended in 2010, but the selection of new members for the 2011-2016 term did not start until April 2011. To make matters worse, the central government intervened by rejecting the appointments of Agus Alua and Hana Hikoyabi who had already been selected as members of MRP by the provincial committee. Alua and Hikoyabi were labeled "separatist" by Jakarta. As a matter of fact, these two Papuan leaders had an important role in facilitating the demonstration "returning" the special autonomy law to the central government in 2010. As a result of this, the inauguration was delayed. On 7 April, Agus Alua passed away after a long illness. On 12 April, 73 members of MRP (40 Papua and 33 West Papua) were inaugurated by the Minister of Home Affairs Gamawan Fauzi in Jayapura. On 30 May, members of the MRP agreed to maintain only one MRP for both provinces. However, on 6-7 June the members of West Papua MRP, led by Vitalis Yumte, Z Abidin Bay, and Anike Sabami, decided to establish a separate MRP for West Papua province. Surprisingly this separate body was supported by all members of West Papuan origin. Despite the refusal of Papuan members of Parliament in Jakarta, the separation was encouraged by Jakarta as well as by the governor of West Papua. The newly established West Papua People's Assembly was re-inaugurated...

An examination of judicial sentencing decisions in child pornography and child molestation cases in Canada

PurposeAccessing and distributing child pornography is an emerging problem. This paper aims to examine the judicial sentencing decisions of child pornography cases and whether they differ from decisions of child molestation cases.Design/methodology/approachUsing a legal database of Canadian court judgments, the study examined sentencing decisions of 50 child pornography and 50 child molestation cases, identifying variables that were present in the judges' reasons for their decision.FindingsThe results revealed a disparity in sentencing that favours incarceration rather than community sentences for child molesters over child pornography cases. Despite what appears to be lighter sentences for child pornography offenders, judges were more likely to sanction treatment and recommend restrictions in cases of child pornography than child molestation. In light of the absence of literature exploring sentencing disparity among child sexual offences, further directions and suggestions for practice are discussed.Practical implicationsThe examination of the disparity of sentencing decisions for child molesters and child pornography offenders and the identified variables that may contribute to these decisions suggests that the judiciary views child pornography and child molestation offenders differently and are more punitive toward contact offenders. Such disparity has implications for the criminal justice system.Originality/valueThis study offers the first exploration of sentencing disparity and decisions on child pornography and child molestation cases in Canada.

Biologist spared jail for grant fraud

A prompt confession and apparent remorse helped a former MIT researcher to secure a lighter sentence.

Containing "Perversion": African Americans and Same-Sex Desire in Cold War Los Angeles

r u t h F o s t e r , a t w e n t y y e a r o l d African American, repeatedly stabbed her lover, Louise Ford, a forty-three-year-old African American, on 19 May 1948 in the home they shared on South Avalon Boulevard in Los Angeles. Foster killed the woman to whom she had been a “wife” because Ford intended to end their five-year relationship. Ford had found another woman who had more money than Foster did. After Ford taunted her, Foster said: “A strange frenzy came over me, and i grabbed a steak knife and began stabbing her.” Two weekly African American newspapers in Los Angeles reported on Foster’s crime. The California Eagle referred to the relationship between Foster and Ford as “strange” and “unnatural.” in a front-page article, the Los Angeles Tribune suggested that Foster should have been ashamed of her relationship with Ford. The newspaper reported that Foster’s “truthfulness and lack of guile or shame” in discussing her relationship with Ford “startled a squad of sophisticated policemen.” The Tribune also noted that Foster’s attorney, Walter L. Gordon, Jr., would argue that she was “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Gordon told reporters that Foster’s “alleged insanity grew out of ‘illicit love’” and that she was “obviously mentally deficient.” Two months later, Foster was sentenced to one to ten years in prison for manslaughter. The sentence prompted a third African American newspaper, the Los Angeles Sentinel, to observe that “life is extremely cheap when Negroes murder Negroes.” in a front-page editorial, Sentinel editor and publisher Leon H. Washington, Jr., criticized the sentence (which the editorial described as lenient), Gordon’s defense of Foster, and the African American community’s tolerance of same-sex relationships. The newspaper declared that the light sentence “creates the impression among others who

Faction Fights, Student Protests, and Rebellion: The Politics of Beer-Drinks and Bad Food in the Transkei, South Africa, 1955–63

This article examines two cases of conflict from the Transkei region of South Africa. In the first instance in 1955, young men caught up in a stick fight after drinking beer were arrested, tried, and convicted, and they received harsh sentences of six months of hard labor. In the second case in 1961, boys at an elite school in Umtata protested their poor food and lodging arrangements, set fire to the school library, and threatened to kill the headmaster. While they were convicted, their punishment of caning was considered a very light sentence. These two cases illuminate the emerging nature of youthful resistance to the inception of home rule that was later to give rise to the Bantustans, as well as the response by state officials seeking to cope with the enlarging rural opposition to the structures of apartheid. The paradox of the strikingly different sentences is examined and explained.