Psychology 2032A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Dangerous Offender, Parole Parole, Extenuating Circumstances

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2032A/B
• Professor: John Campbell

Document Summary

Special courts for aboriginals: developed with expertise to specialize in cases with aboriginal offenders: Judges here have access to resources that will allow them to apply more appropriate sentences. Mitigating circumstances in the offender"s background may serve to reduce to culpability of the offender. May lead to restorative justice which aims to heal those affected by criminal acts rather than punitive justice. Sentencing in canada: sentencing is defined as the judicial determination of a legal sanction upon a person convicted of an offence (canadian centre for justice statistics, 1997) Goals of the system: canadians believe that the main purpose of the criminal justice system is to protect and serve society. Implicit in this perception is the assumption that the system is in place to protect the innocent. Mentioned less frequently, but still important, is the belief that the system should act as a deterrent to criminals and that it should function to punish offenders.