Free Essay Sample on Appealing a Court Sentence: When Is it Permissible

Introduction

An appealing Court has to correct a sentence that the judge has imposed. This is especially when the sentence imposed is above the required punishment allowed for the crime. A criminal defendant can appeal an unreasonable sentence by notifying the sentencing judge on the verdict. Other instances where a sentence can be appealed are when their defendant gives wrong reasons and if a continuance is not appropriately denied. The social, economic status of individuals has a drastic effect on how they are sentenced in a court of law. The rise of poverty has also led to a higher crime rate in society. This has made the criminal justice system focus mainly on the poor's crimes than the rich (Stamm, 2016). That is why there are correlations between crime, punishment, and the social status of the individuals involved.

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Criminal Justice for the Poor

The crimes of the rich people are punished differently compared with that of the poor. Even in prisons, the majority of the prisoners are the poor and from dysfunctional families. The worse criminal justice for the poor is due to sentencing alternatives, indigent defense, the shortage of treatment programs, and the number of bonds required for the release. However, in some cases, serious offenses that impacted the victim, the offender should be sentenced to imprisonment regardless of the social, economic background. For instance, both the rich and the poor are assumed to know that it is wrong to abuse others sexually. However, the criminal should try to consider the burden of the poor and their indulgence to the crime. Disadvantaged offenders, at least, should be given less severe penalties for minor offenses.

Another way in which the poor are disadvantaged is that offenders who repeat the offense are usually given a harsher penalty sentence than the first-time offenders. Doing this has discriminated against the poor and recognizes the hardship that the poor experience should be considered. This should be done to minimize the challenges they face when they are being sentenced to imprisonment. In addition to this, the race is also related to sentencing and incarceration. Research shows that competition is related to the social-economic status of particular communities. Minority racial groups have the highest imprisonment rate; for example, the African Americans and the indigenous Australians (Natapoff, 2018). Most of these minority groups are not allowed to continue with their education; hence, they lack employment. As a result, they are taken to prison for survival.

Conclusion

In brief, this paper is about the sentencing appeal and how it has affected the weak and minor racial groups. For a sentence to be appealed, the judge responsible should be notified of the criminal defendant. The paper has also discussed why a sentence can be appealed, such as when a defendant gives invaluable reasons. It has further stated that a high poverty rate has led to the prevalence of crimes in society. It has also highlighted some of the reasons for worse criminal justice for the poor such as indigent defense, alternative sentencing, and the amount of bond required for the release. Furthermore, another way the poor are disadvantaged in the court of law has been highlighted—this includes when the repeated offense is punished severely by the court of law.

Work cited

Natapoff, Alexandra. Punishment without crime: How our massive misdemeanor system traps the innocent and makes America more unequal. Basic Books, 2018.

Stamm, Michael. "Between a rock and discriminatory place: How sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums should be employed to reduce poverty discrimination in the criminal justice system." Geo. J. on Poverty L. & Poly 24 (2016): 399.