Reading Assignment for Section 6.5
Read the following subsection from our online textbook: Section 6.5: Criminal Punishments.
Note: This section spans multiple pages, so be sure to review all pages to fully understand the material.
What You Will Learn
In this section, you’ll explore the purpose, principles, and practices behind criminal punishments. You’ll learn how sentencing hearings are conducted and the various forms of punishment, including fines, incarceration, and the death penalty. By analyzing constitutional protections and key Supreme Court cases, you’ll gain insight into how punishments are shaped by fairness, proportionality, and evolving legal standards, including the ongoing debates surrounding capital punishment.
Student Learning Outcomes for Section 6.5
- SLO 1: Explain the purpose and process of sentencing hearings, including the role of presentence investigations, prior convictions, and victim impact statements in determining appropriate criminal punishments.
- SLO 2: Identify and describe the types of criminal sentences, including fines, forfeiture of property, incarceration, and the death penalty, and analyze their application based on the severity of offenses and judicial discretion.
- SLO 3: Evaluate the constitutional principles, such as the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, that govern sentencing practices, citing landmark cases like Furman v. Georgia (1972), Blakely v. Washington (2004), and Graham v. Florida (2010).
- SLO 4: Assess the role of sentence appeals in ensuring fairness and legality in sentencing, explaining how legal errors, discretionary abuse, and disproportionality are addressed through appellate review.
- SLO 5: Analyze the debates surrounding the death penalty, including arguments related to deterrence, retribution, fairness, and constitutional limitations, as framed by cases such as Gregg v. Georgia (1976) and McCleskey v. Kemp (1987).
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Slide Presentations
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Last Updated: 01/11/2025