Deck 12: Punishment and Sentencing

Question 1

A determinate sentence means that the defendant determines his or her own punishment with the assistance of a counselor.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

All 50 states impose death as a sentence.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Sentencing decisions are most often based on specific formulas.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Social scientists have been able to measure how many people have stopped themselves from committing a crime as a result of the threat of certain punishments.

Question 5

Roughly 70% of persons under correctional supervision are in prison.

Question 6

The goal of deterrence assumes that criminals are rational beings.

Question 7

Misdemeanor courts can generally only impose prison sentences of one year or less.

Question 8

When imposing a sentence,judges consider only one goal,such as retribution,incapacitation,rehabilitation,or deterrence.

Question 9

The saying "an eye for an eye,a tooth for a tooth" is an example of deterrence.

Question 10

Attitudes of judges factor into sentencing decisions.

Question 11

Many legislators,prosecutors,and judges have abandoned rehabilitation as a goal.

Question 12

It is constitutional for states to execute persons under the age of 18.

Question 13

The death penalty was found to be racially discriminatory by the U.S.Supreme Court.

Question 14

Restorative justice programs in Vermont have increased the percentage of nonviolent offenders in the state's prisons.

Question 15

The prison population contains the same proportion of African Americans as the general population.

Question 16

Small counties frequently cannot afford to seek the death penalty as punishment because of the expenses involved in such trials.

Question 17

Two-thirds of those on death row are from the South.

Question 18

Some states still use beheading as the preferred method of execution.

Question 19

Mandatory sentences are consistent with rehabilitation.

Question 20

Punishments often reflect the values of the society in which they occur.

Question 21

Presentence reports are prepared carefully to avoid stereotyping defendants.

Question 22

The prison population contains a higher proportion of Hispanics than does the general population.

Question 23

Truth in sentencing guidelines are laws that require offenders to serve 85% of their sentences.

Question 24

Lethal injection has been shown to violate the Eighth Amendment.

Question 25

Eyewitness error is not cause of wrongful convictions.

Question 26

The use of crack cocaine in poor,poverty-laden communities has had little effect on increasing the sentencing disparity.

Question 27

Incarceration involves depriving an offender of the ability to commit crimes against society,usually by detaining the offender in prison or jail.

Question 28

Gender does not affect sentencing decisions.

Question 29

Sentencing guidelines provide additional discretion for judges in the sentencing process.

Question 30

The pursuit of justice through punishment imposed on a person as "payback" for harming society by violating criminal laws is called

A)incapacitation.
B)special deterrence.
C)rehabilitation.
D)retribution.

Question 31

The development of DNA technology has increased the number of people convicted by juries and later exonerated by science.

Question 32

Which term is used to define a model of justice that focuses on repairing damage done to the victim and the community?

A)Reparations
B)Rehabilitation
C)Retribution
D)Incapacitation

Question 33

Which of the following is true of incarceration?

A)Incarceration has no effect in deterring potential offenders.
B)Incarceration is costly.
C)The public is generally not aware of incarceration as a penalty imposed by U.S.courts.
D)The majority of persons under correctional supervision are incarcerated.

Question 34

Punishment that uses imprisonment or execution to prevent a person from committing additional crimes is called

A)incapacitation.
B)special deterrence.
C)rehabilitation.
D)retribution.

Question 35

Which English scholar developed utilitarianism and viewed retribution as pointless?

A)Orville Majors
B)Thomas Hobbes
C)John Locke
D)Jeremy Bentham

Question 36

Punishment designed to affect the future choices and behaviors of individuals and targeted toward individuals who have already been convicted is called

A)incapacitation.
B)special deterrence.
C)rehabilitation.
D)retribution.

Question 37

When the goal of punishment is to restore a convicted offender to society through therapy,this is called

A)incapacitation.
B)special deterrence.
C)rehabilitation.
D)retribution.

Question 38

Punishment that assumes that members of the general public will not commit a crime because they observe the punishment of others who have committed the crime is called

A)incapacitation.
B)specific deterrence.
C)rehabilitation.
D)general deterrence.

Question 39

Studies in Pennsylvania show that those at greatest risk of being sentenced are young,male,and black.

Question 40

Since the 1980s,sentencing guidelines have been established in the federal courts and in nearly two dozen state court systems.

Question 41

In recent years,dozens of people have been released from prison when their innocence was discovered through the use of

A)polygraph tests.
B)lie detector tests.
C)eyewitness testimony.
D)DNA testing.

Question 42

Sentencing guidelines provide

A)judges with guidance on incarcerating felons.
B)corrections officers with discretion when incarcerating felons.
C)police officers with discretionary power for arrests.
D)prosecutors with guidance on plea-bargaining cases.

Question 43

When the commission of a specific crime requires offenders to serve a minimum period of incarceration before release,this is called

A)an indeterminate sentence.
B)a presumptive sentence.
C)a mandatory sentence.
D)good time.

Question 44

Which of the following is not a factor in sentencing decisions?

A)Attitudes and values of the judge
B)Conflicting goals of criminal justice
C)Administrative pressures
D)Community values

Question 45

Which of the following is a valid observation about the orientation and assumptions of lower courts in their attempt to process a large mass of cases?

A)All defendants will go to trial.
B)The vast majority of defendants will plead guilty.
C)The courts must take extra care to filter out innocent defendants because prosecutors never drop charges.
D)Each defendant is entitled to two weeks or more of courtroom time in a trial.

Question 46

Probation officers play a role in sentencing by

A)preparing the presentence report for the judge.
B)always asking for leniency.
C)instructing victims about what to say at sentencing hearings.
D)working with the defense attorney to prepare each defendant's rehabilitation plan.

Question 47

Roughly what percentage of adults under correctional supervision are on probation?

A)12%
B)25%
C)50%
D)75%

Question 48

Legislatures construct sentencing guidelines according to two dimensions.These dimensions are:

A)seriousness of the offense and gender.
B)recidivism and gender.
C)seriousness of the offense and prior record.
D)gender and family responsibilities.

Question 49

Which of the following statements about the death penalty is true?

A)The offender's race and sex can be considered as factors when deciding whether to invoke the death sentence.
B)Offenders sentenced to death are not entitled to effective counsel.
C)It is constitutional to exclude jurors who do not believe in the death penalty from capital cases.
D)The death penalty cannot be imposed on an offender who was a juvenile at the time the offense was committed.

Question 50

Which demographic group is overrepresented in the prison population of most states?

A)White males
B)African American males
C)White females
D)Hispanic males

Question 51

A murderer with several convictions is likely to receive

A)selective incapacitation.
B)restoration.
C)rehabilitation.
D)good time.

Question 52

A presentence report is prepared by

A)the court clerk.
B)the judge.
C)a probation officer.
D)the prosecutor.

Question 53

Which of the following is true regarding presentence reports?

A)They are scientific.
B)They avoid stereotypes.
C)They ease the strain of decision-making for a judge.
D)They are prepared by the prosecutor.

Question 54

From 1975 to 2000,the number of people facing the death penalty in the United States

A)increased.
B)decreased.
C)stayed the same.
D)remained unknown.

Question 55

Defendants whose cases are processed through the lower court assembly line appear to receive

A)severe punishment.
B)moderate punishment.
C)little or no punishment.
D)"just desserts" style punishment.

Question 56

Which of the following is true about the death penalty?

A)All Western democracies use the death penalty.
B)Most Western democracies use the death penalty.
C)The United States is virtually the only Western democracy to use the death penalty.
D)No Western democracies,including the United States,use the death penalty.

Question 57

A prison administrator may reduce a prisoner's sentence for good behavior.This is called

A)time served.
B)good time.
C)behavioral discretion.
D)work release.

Question 58

The U.S.Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty,as administered,constituted cruel and unusual punishment in the case of

A)Furman v.Georgia (1972).
B)Gregg v.Georgia (1976).
C)McCleskey v.Kemp (1987).
D)Payne v.Tennessee (1991).

Question 59

How many states use the death penalty?

A)All 50 states
B)About three-fourths of the states
C)About one-fourth of the states
D)About one-tenth of the states

Question 60

Felony cases are processed and offenders are sentenced in the courts of _____ jurisdiction.

A)limited
B)general
C)specific
D)felony

Question 61

Jenna works for the Innocence Project.She is currently working on a case for a client who claims that she was wrongly convicted of murder.Jenna was able to request and confirm a new test for her client in order to prove her innocence.She is most likely having her client's _______ tested.

A)DNA
B)testimony
C)witness
D)psychiatric health

Question 62

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder.Based upon state law,the judge was forced to sentence Alex to 25 years in prison.Alex's sentencing is based on which goal of punishment?

A)Specific deterrence
B)General deterrence
C)Intermediate sanction
D)Death

Question 63

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder.Based upon state law,the judge was forced to sentence Alex to 25 years in prison.The judge in Alex's case had no discretion because of ______ laws in his state.

A)sentencing guideline
B)indeterminate sentencing
C)good time
D)earned time

Question 64

In _____,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that execution of developmentally disabled defendants was unconstitutional.

A)Roper v.Simmons (2005)
B)McCleskey v.Kemp (1987)
C)Gregg v.Georgia (1976)
D)Atkins v.Virginia (2002)

Question 65

Sentencing decisions are impacted by the relationship between which of the following individuals?

A)Prosecutor and defense attorney only
B)Prosecutor,defense attorney,and judge
C)Defense attorney and judge only
D)Prosecutor and judge only

Question 66

Jenna works for the Innocence Project.She is currently working on a case for a client who claims that she was wrongly convicted of murder.Jenna's client was given a 20-year sentence,but she received a reduction in her sentence for assisting in recovery efforts after a tornado devastated a local town.This reduction in sentence is referred to as

A)good time.
B)earned time.
C)mandatory sentencing.
D)sanctions.

Question 67

Under the ________ approach,the amount and kind of punishment are calculated to discourage a criminal from repeating the offense.

A)incapacitation
B)rehabilitation
C)general deterrence
D)specific deterrence

Question 68

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder.Based upon state law,the judge was forced to sentence Alex to 25 years in prison.Alex will serve his time in a prison approximately 100 miles from his home.Because Alex will not be able to harm anyone in the general public,his removal from society is called

A)rehabilitation.
B)incapacitation.
C)restorative justice.
D)an intermediate sanction.

Question 69

Eric has just been sentenced to a short term to be served within the community.He knows his crime was a mistake and considers this experience to be the first and last time he will be involved with the criminal justice system.He plans to do everything that is required of him and make this time go by as easily as possible.Eric's sentence is most likely

A)incarceration.
B)boot camp.
C)house arrest.
D)probation.

Question 70

Jenna works for the Innocence Project.She is currently working on a case for a client who claims that she was wrongly convicted of murder.Jenna's client was given an incarceration period of 20 years,which was the minimum allowable by law.She was most likely sentenced under _________ sentencing.

A)indeterminate
B)determinate
C)presumptive
D)mandatory

Question 71

What group actively seeks evidence to overturn death penalty convictions?

A)The Innocence Project
B)ACLU
C)Black Lives Matter
D)The DNA Project

Question 72

Jenna works for the Innocence Project.She is currently working on a case for a client who claims that she was wrongly convicted.Her client was given a 20-year sentence for murder,but she has earned a sentence reduction based upon her participation in various programs.This reduction is called

A)good time.
B)earned time.
C)face time.
D)rehabilitation.

Question 73

_____ are rigorous,military-style regimens for juveniles designed to accelerate punishment while instilling discipline.

A)Day reporting centers
B)Prisons
C)Boot camps
D)Halfway houses

Question 74

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder.Based upon state law,the judge was forced to sentence Alex to 25 years in prison.Alex is relieved that he did not receive the death penalty,which has been determined by the Supreme Court not to be a violation of his ___________ rights.

A)Miranda
B)Eighth Amendment
C)Fifth Amendment
D)Habeas Corpus

Question 75

Jenna is currently working on a case for a client who is eligible for parole.Jenna's client was most likely sentenced under _________ sentencing.

A)indeterminate
B)determinate
C)presumptive
D)mandatory

Question 76

The late Chief Justice ______ actively sought to reduce the opportunities for capital punishment defendants to have their appeals heard by multiple courts.

A)John Roberts
B)William Rehnquist
C)Earl Warren
D)John Marshall

Question 77

Many exonerations are not based on DNA evidence,but on the discovery that prosecutors had ignored or _______ evidence.

A)hidden
B)destroyed
C)contained
D)shared

Question 78

_____ is a reduction in a prisoner's sentence as a reward for participation in educational or other rehabilitation programs,or for work assignments,such as disaster relief or conservation projects.

A)Earned time
B)Good time
C)Remedial time
D)Good Samaritan time

Question 79

______ is the state with the most defendants on death row.

A)New York
B)Washington
C)California
D)Florida

Question 80

Alex was recently found guilty of first-degree murder,which is a felony.Which jurisdiction would have heard Alex's case?

A)Specific
B)General
C)Local
D)Federal