Chapter 9—Punishment and Sentencing
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four basic philosophical reasons for
sentencing?
a. Deterrence
b. Incapacitation
c. Retribution
d. Revenge
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The strategy of preventing crime through the threat of punishment is called:
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is the oldest and most common justification for punishment?
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The basic idea of ____ is that by punishing one person, others will be dissuaded from
committing a similar crime.
Absolute deterrence
Specific deterrence
Just deterrence
General deterrence
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following sentencing philosophies is viewed as the most humane?
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Just deserts
Rehabilitation
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6.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A strategy for preventing crime by detaining wrongdoers in prison is:
Retribution
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Just deserts
7.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A form of deterrence that is designed to prevent the offender from offending again is:
General deterrence
Individualized deterrence
Offender-based deterrence
Specific deterrence
8.
a.
b.
c.
d.
When indeterminate sentencing is used, the ________ determines the date of release.
Judge
Jury
Parole board
Legislature
9.
What type of sentencing occurs when a judge determines the minimum and maximum
terms of imprisonment?
Determinate
Indeterminate
Mandatory
Truth in
a.
b.
c.
d.
10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A condition of early release in which a prisoner is released from a correctional facility
but is not freed from the legal custody and supervision of the state is:
Good-time
Probation
Parole
Truth-in-sentencing
2
11.
a.
b.
c.
d.
12.
a.
b.
c.
d.
13.
a.
b.
c.
d.
14.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by
judges or other corrections officials is called ____ sentencing.
Determinate
Indeterminate
Mandatory
Truth in
All but four states allow prisoners the opportunity to reduce their sentences by doing
“good time,” or behaving well, as determined by
The parole board
Prison administrators
The sentencing judge
The jury
What type of sentencing law requires that murderers and others convicted of serious
crimes complete a certain percentage their sentences with no time off for good behavior?
Determinate sentencing laws
Indeterminate sentencing laws
Mandatory sentencing laws
Truth in sentencing laws
Truth-in-sentencing laws, in the majority of states, require offenders to serve at least
____ of the sentence handed down by the judge.
60%
75%
85%
100%
15.
A sum of money paid in compensation for damages done to the victim is:
a. A fine
b. Community service
c. Restitution
d. Bond
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16.
Restitution fits best with the ____ philosophy of punishment.
a. Deterrence
b. Retribution
c. Restorative justice
d. Rehabilitation
17.
House arrest, electronic monitoring, and boot camp are all examples of:
a. Probation
b. Incarceration
c. Community service
d. Alternative sanctions
18.
The harshest sentence a court can assign is:
a. Capital punishment
b. Alternative sanctions
c. Restorative justice
d. Incarceration
19.
Who prepares the presentence investigation report?
a. The judge
b. A probation officer
c. The prosecutor
d. The court clerk
20.
What is the primary factor in a judge's sentencing decision?
a. Aggravating circumstances
b. Judicial philosophy
c. Mitigating circumstances
d. Seriousness of the crime
21.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Judges who make decisions based on ____ are often seen as undermining the pleabargaining process.
Aggravating circumstances
Conviction offense
Mitigating circumstances
Real offense
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22.
a.
b.
c.
d.
23.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Any circumstance accompanying the commission of a crime that may justify a lighter
sentence is known as a(n) ____.
Aggravating circumstance
Conviction circumstance
Mitigating circumstance
Real circumstance
A(n) ____ circumstance is any circumstance accompanying the commission of a crime
that may justify a harsher sentence.
Aggravating
Conviction
Mitigating
Real
24.
Mitigating circumstances may include:
a. A prior record
b. A passive role in the offense
c. Use of a weapon
d. Disregard for the safety of others
25.
A situation in which those convicted of similar crimes do not receive similar sentences is:
a. Sentencing disparity
b. Sentencing discrimination
c. Sentencing bias
d. Sentencing equity
26.
a.
b.
c.
d.
A situation in which the length of a sentence appears to be influenced by a defendant’s
race, gender, economic status, or other factor not directly related to the crime he or she
committed is:
Sentencing disparity
Sentencing discrimination
Sentencing bias
Sentencing equity
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27.
Sentencing guidelines require judges to determine a defendant’s sentencing using:
a. A list of statutorily created criminal sentences
b. A sentencing grid
c. A presentence investigation report
d. The prosecutor’s recommendation
28.
a.
b.
c.
d.
29.
a.
b.
c.
d.
30.
a.
b.
c.
d.
In an effort to eliminate the inequities of disparity by removing judicial bias from the
sentencing process, many states and the federal government have turned to ____, which
require judges to dispense legislatively determined sentences based on factors such as the
seriousness of the crime and the offender’s prior record.
Mandatory sentencing laws
Indeterminate sentencing laws
Sentencing guidelines
Truth-in-sentencing laws
A stipulation in many federal and state sentencing guidelines that allows a judge to adjust
his or her sentencing decision based on the special circumstances of a particular case is
called a(n) ____.
Aggravating circumstance
Departure
Disposition
Mitigating circumstance
Statutorily determined punishments that must be applied to those who are convicted of
specific crimes are:
Mandatory sentencing guidelines
Habitual offender laws
Indeterminate sentencing laws
Determinate sentencing laws
31.
Statutes that require lengthy prison sentences for those who are convicted of multiple
felonies are:
a. Mandatory sentences
b. Habitual offender laws
c. Truth-in-sentencing laws
d. Determinate sentencing
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32.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The United States Supreme Court paved the way for three-strikes laws when it ruled in
____ that Texas’ habitual offender statute did not constitute “cruel and unusual
punishment” under the Eighth Amendment.
Rummel v. Estelle
United States v. Booker
Weems v. United States
Furman v. Georgia
33.
Opponents of victim impact statements argue that they
a. Violate the fifth amendment rights of offenders
b. Result in reduced sentences for the offender
c. Are prejudicial and inflammatory
d. Constitute double jeopardy
34.
Which is the dominant method of execution in the United States today?
a. The gas chamber
b. Electrocution in an electric chair
c. Hanging
d. Lethal injection
35.
In Weems v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that:
a. What is cruel and unusual is defined by the changing norms of society
b. The death penalty is arbitrary
c. Age is a mitigating circumstance when assigning the death penalty
d. That capital punishment is constitutional
36.
a.
b.
c.
d.
In ____ the U.S. Supreme Court did not rule that the death penalty inherently violated the
Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment or the Fourteenth
Amendment’s guarantee of due process, only that it did so as practiced by the states.
Atkins v. Virginia
Furman v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Roper v. Simmons
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37.
a.
b.
c.
d.
38.
a.
b.
c.
d.
39.
a.
b.
c.
d.
According to the bifurcated process in capital cases, the decision to sentence a defendant
to death must be made by:
The judge
The legislature
The jury
The prosecutor
In which case was the U. S. Supreme Court concerned with the execution of mentally
handicapped criminals?
Atkins v. Virginia
Furman v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Roper v. Simmons
Which landmark case effectively ended the execution of those who committed crimes as
juveniles?
Atkins v. Virginia
Furman v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Roper v. Simmons
40.
Roper v. Simmons prohibited the death penalty for persons under the age of:
a. 15
b. 16
c. 17
d. 18
41.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which of the following is not one of the mitigating circumstances that will prevent a
defendant found guilty of first degree murder from receiving the death penalty?
Age
Insanity
Mentally handicapped
Physically handicapped
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42.
Which Amendment guards against "cruel and unusual punishment?"
a. Fourth
b. Fifth
c. Sixth
d. Eighth
43.
a.
b.
c.
d.
44.
a.
b.
c.
d.
According to death penalty advocates, which of the four justifications for punishment is
the only one NOT met through capital punishment?
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution
What single factor is widely believed to contribute the most to the criminal justice
system's fallibility?
DNA technology
Inadequate allocation of funds
Lying by jailhouse snitches
Unsatisfactory legal representation
45.
In the past 10 years, the annual number of executions in the United States:
a. Has remained stable
b. Has increased dramatically
c. Has decreased
d. Has dropped to almost zero
TRUE/FALSE
46.
The oldest and most common justification for punishing someone is incapacitation.
47.
Specific deterrence assumes that an individual, after being punished once for a certain
act, will be less likely to repeat that act because she or he does not want to be punished
again.
48.
Determinate sentencing has severely restricted judicial discretion in many jurisdictions.
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49.
When an offender is sentenced under the determinate sentencing philosophy, his or her
release date is determined by the parole board.
50.
Truth-in-sentencing laws require defendants to serve 100% of their sentences.
51.
"Good time" is a reduction in time served by prisoners based on good behavior,
conformity to rules, and other positive actions.
52.
A fine is a direct payment to the victim or victims of a crime.
53.
Alternative sanctions combine probation with other dispositions such as electronic
monitoring, house arrest, boot camps, and shock incarceration.
54.
Judges who make sentencing decisions based on the real offense are often seen as
undermining the plea-bargain process.
55.
When two criminals receive different sentences for the same offense, this is known as
sentencing discrimination.
56.
Women who are convicted of crimes are more likely than their male counterparts to be
sentenced to prison.
57.
It is the jury, not the judge, who decides whether a convict eligible for the death penalty
will in fact be executed.
58.
No method of execution has ever been found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court.
59.
Advocates of the death penalty argue that it is a strong general deterrent.
60.
The number of offenders being executed by the states is steadily increasing.
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