alternative sentences under criminal law

 alternative sentences under criminal law

A criminal committing an offense does not always leave him behind bars. Different states have their ways of weighing how serious a crime is and determining their respective punishment. However, the more serious an offense is, the more severe the penalty becomes. Criminals who commit felony offenses such as murder, assault, and rape are prone to serve harsher punishments such as hefty fines or long term imprisonment compared to those who commit less severe penalties. There are alternative forms of sanctions a convicted criminal can serve. Examples of alternative disciplines include probation, fines, incarceration, obsolete discharge, intermittent sentence, conditional sentence, restraining order, suspended sentences and, others. A criminal can serve any of these penalties and or a combination of them. The court of law determines the sentencing of a criminal through the judge. This paper will discuss alternative sentences under criminal law.

Serving a jail term of imprisonment is one of the ways a criminal is subjected to punishment. A criminal is jailed after committing a crime. A person sent to jail implies that he is meant to serve his term for less than one year, or he is a criminal waiting for trial. On the contrary, a criminal being imprisoned implies that he has been convicted of a crime. He is put behind bars for more than a year. Prison terms range between a couple of years, while others would last a lifetime. A criminal may be detained in prison as long as he lives. This kind of imprisonment is a death sentence. Death sentences apply to criminals who commit serious offenses such as murder or theft. In conclusion, this sentencing is used to serve as an example to others who could commit such crimes. Imprisonment acts as a deterrence the occurrence of similar crimes in the future.

Imposing fines and restitutions are a form of punishment to people who commit less serious offenses such as minor traffic misconducts and theft. However, substantial fines are paid by people who convict more serious offenses. Serial criminals such as murderers and rapist pay hefty fines to the government. In some cases a person may have to pay a fine and also serve a jail sentence or community service or incarceration. This may apply in a situation where a person had a past criminal record or commits a serious offense. The maximum amount a person should pay for committing a crime is set by the law courts. However, the judge has the audacity to impose fine to a fugitive but not exceeding the amount set by the court. Restitution, however, are fines paid by the perpetrator of an offense to the victims of the crime and not the court. For that reason, fines and restitution are charged to punish the offender, compensate the state and deter any unlawful offenses of a similar kind in the future.

A court can put probation to a person after committing a crime. Probations are given to first time fugitives, criminals who commit less violent crimes and to felons before being sentenced to jail. A person under probation is granted the privilege of living in the society as long as he obeys the set of rules and regulations imposed by the court or the probation officer. Some of the probation rules are, showing up in court when asked to, paying fines and restitutions, reporting to the probation officer in intervals of periods as instructed. In the event an offender bends the rules of probation, he risks being sent to jail of violating probation rules. There are different types of probations. Firstly, there is the formal probation. This kind of probation is applied to people of low risk. The person is not supervised by the court but the requirements of probation apply. Some of the probation requirements include, paying fees, not committing any wrong within your probation period and others. The other type of probation is the supervised probation. Under supervised probation, an offender is required to regularly report to the probation officer and supervised by the court. All other probation rules still apply. Bending of any rule under supervised probation can lend an offender to jail with immediate effect. Thirdly, community control type of probation. Community control is more strict compared to informal supervision and supervised probation. The offender is monitored at all times. This is made possible by the use of a gadget (Ankle monitor) that tracks all the moves made by the offender. Finally, the shock probation, here a person is sent to jail. After a short period of time, usually thirty days, the judge brings the offender back to court and releases him to a supervised probation program. The intention of this kind of probation is to shock the offender into complying with the rules of probation. For that reason, probations are used to deter crimes from happening in the future and punishing the offender.

The court can punish an offender by issuing him an intermittent sentencing. Intermittent sentencing is a situation where an offender serves his jail time in chunks or on certain days and then goes back to his normal life instead of serving his jail term once at a whole. However, the court issues intermittent sentencing to offenders who should serve a ninety-or-less-days jail imprisonment only. The process continues until a person is done with his sentence. An offender may be denied his intermittent imprisonment if he has criminal record. Additionally, a person can be denied an intermittent imprisonment if he violates the rules and terms of probation or if he fails to observe a recognizance. Before an offender is sentenced an intermittent imprisonment, he has to show the judge that he has vital responsibilities such as child care or a job that makes it difficult for him to serve a full time imprisonment. In conclusion, an offender serving his jail term is able to take care of his responsibilities and at the same time serving his jail term.

The court can give a restraining order to an offender, in that, he should stay away from a victim of his crime and not to be seen anywhere near the victim. A restraining order is a court order that intends to protect a victim from being hurt by someone who hurt them. In most cases, a restraining order is subjected to victims of domestic violence. A person issued with a restraining order does not hold an immoral record because domestic violence is a civil crime. Generally, domestic violence entails assault, rape, burglary, criminal sexual contact, terrorist threats and many more. Breaking of restraining order is considered contempt of a court order. In an event that a person bends the rules of restraining order, he can be arrested, imprisoned or accused of felony.

All in all, the main aim of all forms of sentencing is to punish and rehabilitate an offender. However, courts sentence criminals to show the society that the offender has paid for his criminal acts and deter other members of the public from committing similar offenses in the future. Sentencing such as restraining order is used purposely to protect the victims of delinquent acts of a criminal. The court uses this to protect the rights and fundamental freedom of a nation’s citizen. Imprisoning serial criminals such as murderers and rapist ensures the safety of other people and also punishing them for the inhumane offenses. On the other hand, fines imposed on offenders by the court helps a state in raising revenue of its government. Victims of theft and destruction of property are compensated by reinstitutions paid by the offenders. Therefore, all the processes and sessions of the law courts end up accomplishing their core target of attaining justice and fairness.