78
votes
Accepted
Why is murder considered a more serious crime than attempted murder?
Your question is the subject of longstanding and ongoing debate that has generated countless articles and books and dissertations, so you're probably not going to get a fully satisfactory answer here.
...
- 57.2k
74
votes
Why is drunk driving causing accident punished so much worse than just drunk driving?
Moral luck
You have raised the issue of moral luck, a long recognized problem in criminal theory. The classic expositions of this issue are by Thomas Nagel, in his chapter, "Moral Luck" (...
- 43.1k
48
votes
Why are people sentenced to prison for terms longer than life?
Just to expand on what others have answered: It's important that each crime is also given its own sentence as it's possible that prisoners can be cleared of crimes if new evidence is found. This could ...
- 581
29
votes
Are there any provisions for economic inequality in legal punishments?
Under German law, if you are sentenced to a fine because you committed a crime, that fine is measured in Tagessätze (day fine). One day worth of fines is the 30th part of your monthly income, adjusted ...
- 506
28
votes
Accepted
Under what statute can an English judge 'sentence' someone to read classic literature?
Section 277 of the Sentencing Act 2020 provides:
277 Suspended sentence order for person aged 21 or over: availability
(1) This section applies where, in dealing with an offender for an
offence, a ...
- 6,315
27
votes
Why are people sentenced to prison for terms longer than life?
In this case, it was a life sentence for the crime of rape and he got 30 life sentences because he committed 30 rapes, and is sentenced separately for each.
Any time you see something talking about ...
- 23.6k
26
votes
Why is murder considered a more serious crime than attempted murder?
You may get more effective murderers that way
I would frame the question from the perspective from the criminal.
If they know they will be punished equally from attempted murder from actual murder, ...
- 377
26
votes
Why is drunk driving causing accident punished so much worse than just drunk driving?
Drunk driving remains, per se, "victimless" - a breach of regulations - until someone actually becomes a victim. That puts less emphasis on the punitive role of the justice system and more ...
24
votes
Accepted
Why are people sentenced to prison for terms longer than life?
Summary
It tends to happen when someone is found guilty of multiple crimes. Sentences involving multiple convictions can be either concurrent or cumulative. Often, the law the defendant broke will ...
- 6,068
21
votes
What is the minimum sentence for murder in Japan?
Article 199 of the Penal Code, as it appears from changes up to 2017, says:
人を殺した者は、死刑又は無期若しくは五年以上の懲役に処する。A person who kills another person is punished by the death penalty or imprisonment for life ...
- 4,671
15
votes
What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?
united-states
Minimum sentencing laws do not prescribe any punishment for a judge that simply refuses to obey them. See 18 U.S. Code § 3553 as an example that explains how sentencing must be enforced, ...
- 1,407
14
votes
Accepted
Are there any sentencing guidelines for the crimes Trump is accused of?
New York State's sentencing laws do not have sentencing guidelines in the sense that the federal courts do.
Donald Trump is an individual with no prior felony convictions who is charged with Class E ...
- 194k
12
votes
Are there any provisions for economic inequality in legal punishments?
Economic inequality isn't explicitly considered in criminal sentencing in the United States, which is why it doesn't really have a name with which I am familiar.
The global circumstances of the ...
- 194k
12
votes
Why does so much time elapse between guilty verdict and sentencing?
Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing reflects the fact that a pre-sentencing report has to be prepared and a sentencing hearing has to be prepared for. These tasks aren't done or scheduled before there is a ...
- 194k
11
votes
Why there was no trial for Michael Cohen
Cohen plead guilty to a number of charges. If you plead guilty with any charges, then there is no need to go forward with a trial.
- 820
11
votes
Accepted
Does anyone besides the president have the authority to pardon?
The president alone has power, under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, to grant pardons for federal offenses. Many states have an analogous power for governors, to pardon state offenses. In some states,...
- 210k
11
votes
What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?
new-zealand
The prosecutor may appeal on the question of law whether the judge erred in not imposing the minimum sentence.
The appeal court may agree and order the original court (not directly the ...
- 25.6k
10
votes
Can a cop direct a pharmacist to fill a known fraudulent prescription in order to convict a subject of a higher crime?
The circuits all over the place on this one but I don't see these facts fitting according to the strictest rule.
It is within the discretion of the police to decide whether delaying
the arrest of ...
- 8,646
10
votes
Are there any provisions for economic inequality in legal punishments?
In the U.S., fines may be reduced by a judge if the defendant is indigent and there exists several alternative means of prison so offenders can be released to work and return to jail for their non-...
- 22.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Are vigilantes actions on DDoSing child porn sites illegal?
This would be illegal in Australia (Criminal Code Act 1995 part 10.7: any unauthorised impairment of electronic communication to or from a computer), the US (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) and any ...
- 210k
9
votes
If you are serving a life sentence, die, are legally declared dead, and are brought back to life, are you now free?
If you can be revived, you are not legally dead.
To be declared dead you must be in cardio-pulmonary failure and have all attempts at resuscitation cease or be brain dead - no one has ever recovered ...
- 198k
8
votes
Defendant not present for sentencing
The defense isn’t prevented from presenting any arguments, but some arguments might be less convincing.
“My client is really sorry and will do everything he can to fix the damage and he has learnt his ...
- 32.9k
8
votes
Can previous crimes that one was found "not guilty" of be used against them?
What you are describing is closely related to "acquitted conduct sentencing".
On the first point, "Carl's" previous acquittal cannot be considered evidence that he committed a ...
- 2,636
8
votes
Why is drunk driving causing accident punished so much worse than just drunk driving?
Drivers are negligent all the time. Not only by drunk driving, but also by speeding, driving when really tired, etc.
The question is, what level of negligence is enough to call it recklessness?
The ...
- 504
7
votes
What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?
england-and-wales
The Crown Prosecution Service page here:
Unduly Lenient Sentences
defines
Meaning of 'Unduly Lenient'
...
This includes cases where judges err in law as to their powers of ...
- 2,230
7
votes
How to determine a fair sentence?
You are assuming that avoiding recidivism is the primary goal of a custodial sentence
If that were the case, then the death penalty for every crime would be the most effective: not only do dead people ...
- 198k
7
votes
Why is drunk driving causing accident punished so much worse than just drunk driving?
Have you seen or watched the movie Minority Report? People were arrested and imprisoned based upon what they would have done in the future.
While you are probably unable to drive in a reasonably safe ...
- 2,033
6
votes
Why are people sentenced to prison for terms longer than life?
Medical life extension, ie treatments for common age-related causes of death, is increasing at a surprisingly fast pace, and life expectancy is only increasing. An 18 year old now might possibly live ...
- 231
6
votes
Accepted
How might a defense attorney use the fact that the accused was coerced? Examples from the movie Se7en
In the first case, under US law, you are not considered guilty in most cases where you are forced to commit a crime under duress (gun to your head would certainly qualify). Murder is a rare exception ...
- 22.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Waiver of Mandatory Minimums: why would that be up to the prosecutor and not a judge?
The short answer is that this is because the Florida legislature decided to do so.
Why would they do that?
Prosecutors are perceived to be more consistently in favor of "tough on crime policies" ...
- 194k
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