Punishing the Offender
Assume you are a judge in a state court. The trial in the case described below has just ended, and you must now impose a sentence. Your sentence should be appropriate for the offense and should demonstrate critical reasoning and your understanding of sentencing law and concepts you are reading about in your textbook. Assume you have the ability to impose any sentence you want under state statutory law.
Facts of the Case: The defendant, age 28, has been convicted of 100 counts of rape (every count is a separate incidence of rape) of his/her 10-year old child, who is now living in a mental institution due to the trauma caused by the defendant’s actions. The defendant has an IQ of 67. The defendant has a prior criminal record of two incidences of child molestation.
Instructions to Complete the Written Assignment:
1. Prepare a sentencing report for the defendant. You might want to look at the Sentencing Guidelines Probation Worksheet at Page 83 of your textbook for some ideas.
2. Your report should discuss the following components:
a. Give the defendant a name, gender, race, and ethnicity.
b. Briefly summarize the offense for which the defendant was convicted. If you think any facts are missing, make up your own facts to justify your sentence.
c. Finally, impose a sentence that you believe is just and constitutional. Use your analytical skills to explain and justify why this sentence is appropriate for the offense.
3. There is no required length for the report, but it should be long enough to enable you to fully discuss all of the required components
