Prison Term

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Paper

In this paper I will provide a recommendation that concerns the issue of a bill that could double the maximum prison term for a person convicted of armed robbery. I will also speak on the reasoning behind my recommendations concerning the matter.

In November 2011 there will be a vote in the state of Alabama on a bill that could double the prison sentence of any person committing armed robbery. The hope is that the bill will increase penalties and will deter a person from the committing armed robbery crime. Senator Tom Whatley is aware of popular support for the bill; however, he has asked that I make my recommendation of whether or not the measure will have any lawful prevention effect on the rate of occurrence. No matter how many people are for or against a bill does not mean it should become policy. A bill should become policy to help with better solutions to stop criminal’s intent.

When State Senator Tom Whatley asked me for my recommendation, I researched for any studies on the deterrent effect of long, timely sentences for armed robbery. The studies that I found showed me ways that led me believe that whereas there may be a small decrease in recidivism, the reduction was not important enough to indicate that a longer sentence has a large enough deterrent effect on the ones that commit armed robbery. The reduction of crime does not directly play a part in the length of sentence. Rather than focus too attentively on studies of the deterrent effect of harsher penalties, I believe that it is more important to look at the other factors, which may lead an individual to commit an armed robbery.

There are three criminology theories in particular, which may influence a criminal’s decision to commit a violent crime. These theories are the biological theory, the rational choice theory and the psychological theory. The biological theory theorizes that some people are ‘born to be bad’; something in his or her...