Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true regarding crime victims' rights in the United States today?

Accepted Answer

A)   Only four states have laws that protect the basic rights of crime victims in the criminal justice system.
B)   States have enacted more than 30,000 crime-victim-related statutes.
C)   At least 32 state victims' rights constitutional amendments have been passed.
D)   The federal government has passed legislation providing basic rights and services to federal crime victims. A

Question 2

Which of the following descriptions about a Supreme Court death penalty case is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   In Ford v. Wainwright, the Court barred states from executing inmates who have developed mental illness while on death row.
B)   In Atkins v. Virginia, the Court held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute the intellectually challenged.
C)   In Roper v. Simmons, the Court effectively limited capital punishment to offenders who are 18 years of age or older at the time of their offense.
D)   In McCleskey v. Kemp, the Court held that state death penalty statutes are unconstitutional when statistics indicate that they have been applied in racially biased ways. D

Question 3

According to your textbook, a majority of all people executed since 1977 have been black.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

As of October 1, 2012, approximately how many persons were on death rows in the United States?

Accepted Answer

A)   1,000
B)   3,000
C)   5,000
D)   7,000

Question 5

Judge Reynolds is coming up for re-election in his jurisdiction, and he is facing the case of his career. A serial armed robber, "The Pastor"
Raymond Rob, has just been convicted in a jury trial in Reynolds's courtroom. Rob was found guilty on four counts of armed robbery. "The Pastor"
earned his odd title because he always dressed as clergy when entering the banks. The banks were in rural areas and were not equipped with cameras, so all descriptions of "The Pastor"
had been flawed. His modus operandi consisted of passing the teller a note in his Bible and discretely showing the tip of the gun's barrel under his sleeve. He was finally caught after a fourth bank had been hit when Pastor Rob tripped going out the bank's door. A bank security guard apprehended him after the gun fell out.
During the sentencing portion of the case, Pastor Rob's attorney raised several pieces of information about Pastor Rob. He stated that Pastor Rob's mother died during childbirth, and his father died shortly thereafter in a car accident. Pastor Rob was raised in a series of foster homes, never having a family to call his own. At age 21, Pastor Rob left the foster care system and began preaching in a church he established. He helped many poor families through charity events held at the church, and during hard economic times, he just couldn't find additional funds. He started robbing banks in a nearby state where people did not know him. He got his gun from a parishioner who found it in a deceased relative's belongings and gave it to Pastor Rob for safekeeping.
The prosecutor has information about four clearly planned robberies by Pastor Rob, the use of a weapon, the use of clergy clothes and a Bible, and his preying on bank tellers who now distrust the clergy.
Judge Reynolds is also a former foster child, and he has great sympathy for Pastor Rob. He has been advised by the corrections department that prison space is limited and should be reserved for murderers, especially those involving drug trafficking. His jurisdiction uses indeterminate sentencing, and the punishment for armed robbery is a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years. The judge would like you, his trusted law clerk, to provide him some guidance in the sentence he will impose on Pastor Rob by researching the sentences imposed in similar jurisdictions for similar crimes. What information are you likely to find?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Judge Reynolds is coming up for re-election...

Question 6

A too-lenient sentence cannot be overturned on appeal.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

As of May 8, 2013, how many jurisdictions in the United States have capital punishment statutes?

Accepted Answer

A)   19
B)   26
C)   34
D)   49

Question 8

According to your textbook, what is the average length of time between sentencing and execution?

Accepted Answer

A)   nearly 5 years
B)   nearly 10 years
C)   nearly 15 years
D)   nearly 20 years

Question 9

According to a recent public opinion poll, a greater percentage of Americans would trust a jury more than a judge to give a fair sentence.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

According to Amnesty International, which of the following countries conducted the fewest executions in 2011?

Accepted Answer

A)   China
B)   Iran
C)   Saudi Arabia
D)   the United States

Question 11

Between 1977 and 2013, approximately what percentage of all executions in the United States occurred in the South?

Accepted Answer

A)   20%
B)   40%
C)   60%
D)   80%

Question 12

Capital punishment is the ultimate means of incapacitation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

In 1977, the Supreme Court held that rape of an adult female and kidnapping, when the victim was not killed, do not warrant the death penalty; in 2008, the Court ruled that the rape of child, when the victim was not killed, also did not warrant the death penalty.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a judicial sentencing option?

Accepted Answer

A)   a combination sentence of, for example, imprisonment, probation, and a fine
B)   suspension of the entire sentence
C)   any imaginable sentence
D)   a sentence of time served

Question 15

Which of the following is the landmark case in which the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty by approving guided-discretion statutes?

Accepted Answer

A)   Roper v. Simmons
B)   Powell v. Alabama
C)   Furman v. Georgia
D)   Gregg v. Georgia

Question 16

What is believed to be the longest prison sentence in the United States?

Accepted Answer

A)   100 years
B)   500 years
C)   5,000 years
D)   10,000 years

Question 17

According to a Gallup poll, what percentage of Americans favored the death penalty at the end of 2012?

Accepted Answer

A)   47%
B)   63%
C)   74%
D)   88%

Question 18

Nationally, between 1973 and 2011, what percentage of initial convictions or sentences in capital cases were overturned on appeal?

Accepted Answer

A)   4%
B)   17%
C)   36%
D)   59%

Question 19

Capital defendants have a dual system of collateral review.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Name the five methods of execution currently available in the United States, and the primary method used by all executing jurisdictions.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Name the five methods of execution currently...

Exam 9: Sentencing, Appeals, and the Death Penalty

Which of the following is NOT true regarding crime victims' rights in the United States today?

Which of the following descriptions about a Supreme Court death penalty case is FALSE?

According to your textbook, a majority of all people executed since 1977 have been black.

As of October 1, 2012, approximately how many persons were on death rows in the United States?

A too-lenient sentence cannot be overturned on appeal.

As of May 8, 2013, how many jurisdictions in the United States have capital punishment statutes?

According to your textbook, what is the average length of time between sentencing and execution?

According to a recent public opinion poll, a greater percentage of Americans would trust a jury more than a judge to give a fair sentence.

According to Amnesty International, which of the following countries conducted the fewest executions in 2011?

Between 1977 and 2013, approximately what percentage of all executions in the United States occurred in the South?

Capital punishment is the ultimate means of incapacitation.

In 1977, the Supreme Court held that rape of an adult female and kidnapping, when the victim was not killed, do not warrant the death penalty; in 2008, the Court ruled that the rape of child, when the victim was not killed, also did not warrant the death penalty.

Which of the following is NOT a judicial sentencing option?

Which of the following is the landmark case in which the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty by approving guided-discretion statutes?

What is believed to be the longest prison sentence in the United States?

According to a Gallup poll, what percentage of Americans favored the death penalty at the end of 2012?

Nationally, between 1973 and 2011, what percentage of initial convictions or sentences in capital cases were overturned on appeal?

Capital defendants have a dual system of collateral review.

Name the five methods of execution currently available in the United States, and the primary method used by all executing jurisdictions.