Law Commons^™

“Second Looks, Second Chances”: Collaborating With Lifers Inc. On A Video About Commutation Of Lwop Sentences, Regina Austin

All Faculty Scholarship

In Pennsylvania, life means life without the possibility of parole (“LWOP”) or “death by incarceration.” Although executive commutation offers long serving rehabilitated lifers hope of release, in the past 20 years, only 8 commutations have been granted by the state’s governors. This article describes the collaboration between an organization of incarcerated persons serving LWOP and the law-school-based Penn Program on Documentaries and the Law that produced a video supporting increased commutations for Pennsylvania lifers. The article details the methodology of collaborative videomaking employed, the strategic decisions over content that were impacted by the politics of commutation, and the contributions of …

The Subversions And Perversions Of Shadow Vigilantism, Paul H. Robinson, Sarah M. Robinson

All Faculty Scholarship

This excerpt from the recently published Shadow Vigilantes book argues that, while vigilantism, even moral vigilantism, can be dangerous to a society, the real danger is not of hordes of citizens, frustrated by the system’s doctrines of disillusionment, rising up to take the law into their own hands. Frustration can spark a vigilante impulse, but such classic aggressive vigilantism is not the typical response. More common is the expression of disillusionment in less brazen ways by a more surreptitious undermining and distortion of the operation of the criminal justice system.

Shadow vigilantes, as they might be called, can affect the …

Submission Letter To The Nsw Sentencing Council, David Brown, Julia Quilter

David C. Brown

Re: Bail - Additional show cause offences We refer to the Attorney General's request for the Sentencing Council to consider a proposal to make amendments to the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) ('the 2013 Act') and specifically the Terms of Reference regarding the addition to the categories of offences for which the accused must 'show cause' before bail may be granted. The specific addition under consideration is with respect to an accused charged with a serious indictable offence committed: • while subject to a good behaviour bond, intervention program order, intensive correction order; • while serving a sentence in the community; …

Alcohol And Drug Fuelled Violence - Mandatory Aggravating Factor In Sentencing, Julia Quilter, Luke J. Mcnamara, Kate Seear, Robin Room

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

1: We refer to the Attorney General's request for the Sentencing Council to consider a proposal from the Thomas Kelly Foundation to make amendments to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 ('the Act') aimed at deterring alcohol and drug fuelled violence.

Evolving Standards Of Domination: Abandoning A Flawed Legal Standard And Approaching A New Era In Penal Reform, Spearit

Articles

This Article critiques the evolving standards of decency doctrine as a form of Social Darwinism. It argues that evolving standards of decency provided a system of review that was tailor-made for Civil Rights opponents to scale back racial progress. Although as a doctrinal matter, evolving standards sought to tie punishment practices to social mores, prison sentencing became subject to political agendas that determined the course of punishment more than the benevolence of a maturing society. Indeed, rather than the fierce competition that is supposed to guide social development, the criminal justice system was consciously deployed as a means of social …

Does Religion Have A Role In Criminal Sentencing?, Jack B. Weinstein

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Submission Letter To The Nsw Sentencing Council, David Brown, Julia Quilter

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

Re: Bail - Additional show cause offences

We refer to the Attorney General's request for the Sentencing Council to consider a proposal to make amendments to the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) ('the 2013 Act') and specifically the Terms of Reference regarding the addition to the categories of offences for which the accused must 'show cause' before bail may be granted. The specific addition under consideration is with respect to an accused charged with a serious indictable offence committed:

• while subject to a good behaviour bond, intervention program order, intensive correction order;

• while serving a sentence in the community; …

Applying The Critical Lens To Judicial Officers And Legal Practitioners Involved In Sentencing Indigenous Offenders: Will Anyone Or Anything Do?, Elena Marchetti, Janet Ransley

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

In recent years there have been many attempts aimed at transforming the relationship between Indigenous people and the criminal justice system in Australia. Some of these attempts have been directed at policing relationships, including such measures as community and night patrols. Others have focused on prisons, including attempts at greater cultural accommodation, and even the building of Aboriginal prisons. The focus of this article, however, is on the relationship between Indigenous people and court processes, especially in regards to sentencing. In particular, the article explores innovative sentencing courts, practices and principles introduced across the Australian jurisdictions specifically aimed at Indigenous …

Comments On [Israeli] Proposal For Structuring Judicial Discretion In Sentencing, Paul H. Robinson

All Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, Professor Robinson supports the current Israeli proposal for structuring judicial discretion in sentencing, in particular its reliance upon desert as the guiding principle for the distribution of punishment, its reliance upon benchmarks, or “starting-points,” to be adjusted in individual cases by reference to articulated mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and the proposal’s suggestion to use of an expert committee to draft the original guidelines.

Do Ugly Criminals Receive Harsher Sentences? An Analysis Of Lookism In The Criminal Justice System, Kelly Beck

Business and Economics Honors Papers

For many years, researchers have attempted to find a link between beauty and labor market outcomes. Although many important findings have been noted in these studies, the beauty analysis utilized was a subjective measurement. This subjective method, while important, may have external factors creating bias in the rating itself. In this study, the impact of beauty is applied to criminals and their sentences. Using a computer based symmetry measurement tool, an objective beauty measurement will be utilized. This study will seek to uncover whether or not criminals who are less attractive, measured through facial symmetry, receive harsher prison sentences than …

Indigenous Sentencing Courts (Brief 5, December), Elena Marchetti

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This brief focuses on Indigenous sentencing courts, which operate in all Australian states and territories except Tasmania. These courts have been established according to protocols and practices, and can be distinguished from more informal practices that occur in remote areas where judicial officers travel on circuit. The first court was established in Port Adelaide on 1 June 1999. Indigenous sentencing courts do not practise or adopt Indigenous customary laws. Rather, they use Australian criminal laws and procedures to sentence Indigenous offenders who have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty, but they allow Indigenous Elders and Respected Persons to participate …

Competing Conceptions Of Modern Desert: Vengeful, Deontological, And Empirical, Paul H. Robinson

All Faculty Scholarship

The dispute over the role desert should play, if any, in assessing criminal liability and punishment has a long and turbulent history. There is some indication that deserved punishment -- referred to variously as desert, just punishment, retributive punishment, or simply doing justice -- may be in ascendance, both in academic debate and in real world institutions. A number of modern sentencing guidelines have adopted it as their distributive principle. Desert is increasingly given deference in the purposes section of state criminal codes, where it can be the guiding principle in the interpretation and application of the code's provisions. Indeed, …

"Every Shut Eye, Ain't Sleep": Exploring The Impact Of Crack Cocaine Sentencing And The Illusion Of Reproductive Rights For Black Women From A Critical Race Feminist Perspective, Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

For purposes of this paper, I will address societal regulations imposed upon the Black wombman's ability to control her reproductive rights. As we - Critical Race Feminist ("CRF") theorists who are becoming more empowered Critical Race Feminist activists - engage in necessary dialogue, there must be an appropriate point of departure. Once CRF theorists open our eyes, we will see what I refer to as "her-story." We will also see that it is time to move into action mode in order to address the illusion of reproductive rights for Black women.