CJ 230 Module 3 Assignment Nick B
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3-2 Assignment
Nicholas Barracato
Southern New Hampshire University
CJ 230: Discretion in Criminal Justice
Professor Benjamin Parks
September 17
th
, 2023
Elements in Discretionary Decision Making
Discretion in the criminal justice field essentially allows judges, prosecutors, parole officers, and other law enforcement
officials/officers to make decisions based on the circumstances of the crime or situation. Discretion allows for flexibility in how
crimes are investigated, charged, and sentenced. Unfortunately, it can be viewed as “unfair” especially when privilege, bias and
inconsistency are observed. This is why there needs to be clear guidelines to ensure fairness in the system.
One notable instance of a discretionary decision made in the criminal justice system was the Brock Turner case. Brock Turner
was a former Stanford University student who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on
campus in 2016 (Gersen, J.S, 2023). During this case the judge was viewed as using discretion especially during the sentencing phase
of the case. The most controversial use of discretion occurred when the prosecution decided to offer Brock Turner a plea deal and
when the judge gave a very lenient sentence. The judge in this case sentenced Brock Turner to just 6 months in county jail, 3 years of
probation, and to register himself as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. At one point, Brock Turner’s father read a character
statement and asked for leniency and stated, “I can tell you firsthand the devastating impact that it has had on my son” (Xu, V, 2016)
and that Brock “…fell into the culture of alcohol consumption and partying” (Xu, V, 2016). It was also stated in the letter that a harsh
sentence would be “…a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life” (Xu, V, 2016). This caused an
uproar as it was viewed as the father downplaying the severity of the situation. It is noted that the father did not mention the victim in
the letter. According to his father, “probation is the best answer for Brock in this situation and allows him to give back to society in a
net positive way” (Xu, V, 2016) which obviously made an impression on the judge. The judge went on to make a statement about how
a longer sentence would “impact” Turner’s future.
Morality can influence discretionary decisions in the criminal justice field and it shapes how officials weigh factors like
punishment, rehabilitation, and public safety. However, morals can vary from person to person. This can lead to different outcomes for
individuals even if the cases are similar. In the Brock Turner case, morality played a significant role especially in the public. Many
believed that the judge's decision to sentence Brock Turner to only six months in jail for a crime as serious as sexual assault lacked
basic morality. A lot of people were outraged that the judge took into consideration Brock’s background and potential and seemed to
not do the same for the victim in this case. Critics such as the media and the community argued that the punishment seemed lenient
and did not prioritize the moral importance of holding Brock and ANY perpetrators of sexual assault accountable for their actions and
providing justice for the victim. The moral of the story is that the public outrage over this case obviously raised questions about the
influence of morality and privilege in using discretion within the criminal justice system.
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Resources:
1.)
Gersen, J.S, 2023, Revisiting the Brock Turner Case, The New Yorker,
www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/revisiting-
the-brock-turner-case
.
2.)
Xu, V, 2016, The Full Letter Read by Brock Turner’s Father at His Sentencing Hearing. The Stanford Daily,
https://stanforddaily.com/2016/06/08/the-full-letter-read-by-brock-turners-father-at-his-sentencing-hearing/