Chapter 11: Punishment and Sentencing – Worksheet 2
TRUE/FALSE
1. The seriousness of the crime is the primary factor in a judge’s sentencing decisions.
T
F
REF: 367
OBJ: 5
2. Judges are not uniform or even consistent in their opinions concerning what is
aggravating and what is mitigating.
T
F
REF: 368
OBJ: 5
3. Sentencing disparity occurs when different offenders receive different sentences for
similar offenses.
T
F
REF: 369
OBJ: 6
4. Victim impact statements are offered verbally or in writing during the sentencing phase of the
justice process.
T
F
REF: 376
OBJ: 7
5. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to eliminate the death penalty for juveniles.
T
F
REF: 383
OBJ: 8
6. Those that support the death penalty argue that it is an effective deterrent to future
offending.
T
F
REF: 384
OBJ: 9
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Data compiled by the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicates that
a. judges may treat female defendants more “gently” than they treat male defendants.
b. juries tend to show more leniency toward female defendants in cases involving
violent crime.
c. women are more likely to serve longer sentences then their males counterparts.
d. women are treated more harshly than men when being evaluated for parole.
REF:
369
OBJ:
5
268
2. The text explains that sentencing discrimination results when
a. mitigating or aggravating circumstances have a disproportionate effect on
sentencing.
b. disparities can be attributed to extralegal variables such as gender, race, or
socioeconomic status.
c. similar offenders receive dissimilar punishments.
d. offenders who have committed dissimilar crimes receive similar punishments.
REF:
370
OBJ:
6
3. Sentencing disparity, based on extralegal variables or other factors not directly related
to the crime, is referred to as
a. sentencing disparity.
b. variable disparity.
c. sentencing discrimination.
d. geographic disparity.
REF:
370
OBJ:
6
4. As a result of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, sentences have
a. become shorter.
b. become harsher.
c. become more creative.
d. become more community-based.
REF:
373
OBJ:
6
5. In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s “three-strikes” law?
a. Rummel v. Estelle (1980)
b. Lockyer v. Andrade (2003)
c. Blakely v. Washington (2004)
d. United States v. Booker (2005)
REF:
375
OBJ:
6
6. In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court invalidate the death penalty for over six
hundred offenders on death row at the time?
a. Furman v. Georgia (1972)
b. Weems v. United States (1910)
c. Payne v. Tennessee (1991)
d. Williams v. State (1997)
REF:
380-381
OBJ: 8
269
7. The application of the death penalty is determined by
a. statutory law.
b. prosecutorial choice.
c. the case judge.
d. the jury.
REF:
381
OBJ:
8
8. In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court bar the execution of the mentally
handicapped?
a. McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)
b. Roper v. Simmons (2005)
c. Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
d. Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
REF:
383
OBJ:
8
9. A disproportionate percentage (42%) of those on death row are Black, indicating that
the death penalty may be
a. arbitrary.
b. discriminatory.
c. fallible.
d. wrongful
REF:
387
OBJ:
9
10. In almost all circumstances, the goal of victim impact statements is to
_____________.
a. allow victims to gain closure.
b. increase the harshness of the sentence.
c. protect the constitutional rights of the victim.
d. dissuade juries from capital punishment.
REF:
376
OBJ:
7
11. All of the following are concerns with victim impact statements except
a. that they distract from the facts of the case.
b. that they create sentencing disparity by focusing the punishment on the value of
the victim rather than on the crime.
c. that they are a time-consuming and expensive addition to the court process.
d. that they serve to “inflame the jury.”
REF:
376-377
OBJ: 7
270
12. The most common method of carrying out the death sentence in the United States is
a. the gas chamber.
b. lethal injection.
c. electrocution.
d. hanging.
REF:
380
OBJ:
8
COMPLETION
1. When criminals receive similar sentences for different crimes of unequal seriousness, this is
____________.
REF:
369
OBJ:
6
2. 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 ____________________.
REF:
373
OBJ:
6
3. A document given to the judge in which the victim outlines the impact that the crime
has had on the victim or the victim’s family is known as a
REF:
376
OBJ:
_______.
7
4. In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was cruel and unusual to
execute offenders who were
REF:
383
OBJ:
.
8
5. One argument against the death sentence is its _____________________, or the
concern that an innocent person will be wrongly convicted and subsequently executed.
REF:
386
OBJ:
9
271