Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding Sentencing Practices in the UK

Ethical dilemmas surrounding sentencing
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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 3
Discussion........................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 10
Reference list................................................................................................................. 12
Appendix........................................................................................................................ 14
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Introduction
The consideration of ethical issue in legal practices is growing significantly. It is
observed that people belonging to various groups face major dilemma in serving jail
terms. The increasing number of prisoners is also becoming a major trend and concern
and this is enhancing the financial investment required for managing prisoners. This
scenario has made it mandatory for analyzing major dilemmas surrounding sentencing.
The following section would elaborate the issues that can occur due to the
implementation of sentencing practices.
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Discussion
The main objective of punishment in modern society is to reduce criminal incidents, and
make the society a better place to live. However, many perceive the legal processes as
futile and hostile that can ultimately bread more harmful people for society. Some
people think that the practices of just sentencing a criminal offender are not proving
sufficient for making the person a better human being. Some inmates have stated that
no rehabilitation practices are initiated in a jail and in most of the time of a day they just
spend time seating ideally (Roberts and Rafferty, 2011). It is being mentioned by a
prisoner that just after the release from prisons, the person has found the urge for doing
crime again. According to most of the inmates, the current practices are more like a
torture and less like rehabilitation.
Reducing the level of criminal incidents is the main motto of sentencing. The legal
system of English and Wales therefore emphasizes on the fact that sentencing must
reflect the nature and type of crime committed by the offender. It should also be
proportionate with the density of crime committed by the offenders. The legal system of
English and Wales has a “Sentencing Council” that governs the systems and procedure
of sentencing across England and Wales (Ashworth and Roberts, 2013).
The Sentencing Council forms guidelines that are to be followed by courts. The
Criminal Justice Act 2003 governs the role of judges and magistrates in sentencing
offender for a crime. One of the key factor that is redefined by this act is that, the
number of sentences defines the density of guild of the offender. According to this act,
the relevance among offences has to be identified. The judge bears the role of
identifying the relevance and allocating sentences according to that.
One of the major guideline that is made for the magistrates is the consideration of the
implications and well and effects of mitigating factors along with aggravating factors.
Some of the factors that are suggested to be considered as high culpable cases are
highly intoxicated person, large quality drug and alcohol supplier, and some others
(Roberts, 2013).
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