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  3. Our theory and practice in the area of sentencing have undergone a gradual but dramatic metamorphosis through the years. Primiti

Our theory and practice in the area of sentencing have undergone a gradual but dramatic metamorphosis through the years. Primiti

admin2011-01-26  43
问题     Our theory and practice in the area of sentencing have undergone a gradual but dramatic metamorphosis through the years. Primitive man believed that a crime created an imbalance, which could be rectified only by punishing the wrongdoer. Thus, sentencing was initially vengeance-oriented. Gradually, emphasis began to be placed on the deterrent value of a sentence upon future wrongdoing.
    Though deterrence is still an important consideration, increased emphasis on the possibility of reforming the offender--of returning him to the community a useful citizen bars the harsh penalties once imposed and brings into play a new set of sentencing criteria. Today, each offender is viewed as a unique individual, and the sentencing judge seeks to know why he has committed the crime and what are the chances of a repetition of the offense. The judge’s prime objective is not to punish but to treat.
    This emphasis on treatment of the individual has created a host of new problems. In seeking to arrive at the best treatment for individual prisoners, judges must weigh an imposing array of factors. I believe that the primary aim of every sentence is the prevention of future crime. Little can be done to correct past damage, and a sentence will achieve its objective to the extent that it upholds general respect for the law, discourages those tempted to commit similar crimes, and leads to the rehabilitation of the offender, so that he will not run afoul of the law again. Where the offender is so hardened that rehabilitation is plainly impossible, the sentence may be designed to segregate the offender from society so that he will be unable to do any future harm. The balancing of these interacting, and often mutually antagonistic, factors requires more than a good heart and a sense of fair play on the judge’s part, although these are certainly prerequisites. It requires the judge to know as much as he can about the prisoner before him. He should know the probable effects of sentences upon those who might commit similar crimes and how the prisoner is likely to react to imprisonment or probation. Because evaluation of these various factors may differ from judge to judge, the same offense will be treated differently by different judges.
    The task of improving our sentencing techniques is so important to the nation’s moral health that it deserves far more careful attention than it now receives from the bar and many civic-minded individuals who usually lead even the judges in the fight for legal reform approach this subject with apathy or with erroneous preconceptions. For example, I have observed the sentiment shared by many that, after a judge has sentenced several hundred defendants, the whole process becomes one of callous routine. I have heard this feeling expressed even by attorneys who should know better.
In determining what sentence to impose, a judge today ______.
选项 A、tries to punish the offender
B、is callous
C、is inconsistent
D、tries to prevent future crimes
答案D
解析 在决定如何宣判的过程中，如今的法官试图防止罪犯未来的犯罪活动。作者在第三段中说，“我认为每次宣判的主要目的是防止未来的犯罪活动”。
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