Criminal Justice Policy

In this week’s discussion we will focus on a sentencing policy, a topic within criminal justice policy. Sentencing policies have changed over time and are directly affected by Supreme Court rulings on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. In this discussion please address the following:

1. Briefly summarize a sentencing policy (i.e. minimum mandatory, 3 strikes, etc . . .). What is the purpose of the policy?

2. What are the positives and negatives of the policy?

3. Are there any Supreme Court rulings that have specifically examined the policy? If so please describe the case(s) briefly

Chapters 11 and 12 of:

Wilson, C.A. (2019). Public policy: continuity and change. (3rdEd.) Waveland Press: Long Grove, IL.