Posted: September 7th, 2024

CCJ 4934 Elders in the Criminal Justice System

CCJ 4934 Elders in the Criminal Justice System
Based upon the course material discuss whether you believe judges should be more lenient when sentencing older offenders. Be sure to fully explain your reasoning for your postion and support it by integrating course material. Use the Weinstein case as just one example but you do not need to go into any details about his case.

Your response must be a minimum of 350 words to receive any credit. Please indicate the number of words at the end of your response.

In addition to your post, you need to also respond to one of your classmates.

While this question asks for your individual opinion, your discussion post must contain the following:

Your response must demonstrate that you have a good understanding of the course material. You need to use formal paragraphs
Responses need to provide in-depth discussion — provide convincing arguments that integrates the course material to justify your response.
Carefully proofread your response before submitting it.
Your essay will be graded on the following criteria:

Demonstrated understanding of the course material, critical analysis and quality of writing.
Your post responding to your peer will be based upon the following criteria:

Level of thoughtfulness, critical thinking.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&;v=Xvqj8hgxRfg
Leniency from Judges in Sentencing Older Offenders
I believe that judges need to be more lenient when it comes to sentencing older offenders for several reasons. Most of the elderly population faces numerous challenges ranging from physical health, mental health, social, and safety concerns. For instance, an individual with physical health challenges requires his types of regular diets, the proper medication that is provided continuously and should not be engaged in several activities that could bring profit to the facilities. One example is Harvey Weinstein’s case, who was sentenced to 23 years in jail while at the age of 67. At the time of his jailing, he was suffering from poor health, which will need to be catered for in his stay in prison. The cost of care for a young individual is incomparable to older individuals considering the challenges faced by the latter population. A correctional facility continually having to deal with different older persons who come with their problems, will have to have more financial resources to handle each individual effectively.
The judges choosing to be lenient in their sentencing can correct this burden placed on correctional facilities. It is estimated that the elderly will be around 21% to 33% in the United States. This substantial number of elderly persons in prisons will mean that the correctional facilities will need further resources to handle the individual to ensure that they are appropriately taken care of (Mueller-Johnson & Dhami, 2009). Notably, being lenient to these individuals eases the burden by giving different sentences apart from jail terms or giving them short sentences in comparison to the younger population. The judges need to incorporate ways to ensure that they keep less elderly individuals within prison walls while ensuring that they also get to pay for their crimes. The age leniency also needs to consider the severity of the offenses charged against the elderly individual (Mueller-Johnson & Dhami, 2009). The judge could choose to imprison those found guilty for the grievous crimes and ensure that they are immediately enrolled in rehabilitation programs. This increases the chances for those who are reformed having the time in prison reduced. The rest of the crimes could receive lenient sentences.

Word Count: 363
References
Mueller-Johnson, K & Dhami, M. (2009). Effects of Offenders’ Age and Health on Sentencing Decisions. The Journal of social psychology. 150. 77-97. 10.1080/00224540903365315.

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