How the Justice System Works

Do you want to know how executions are carried out in different states? Are you interested in learning how the court system works? Do you wonder what the penalties are for certain offenses? Do you want to learn the difference between the jail system and the prison system? I will answer these questions through the knowledge I gained from attending a criminology class.

Thirty-six of the forty-one states that use the death penalty carry out electrocutions or lethal injections. Washington and four other states resort to hangings or firing squads. Citizens serve on the firing squads. One of the participants has an empty gun.

The purpose of having one empty gun is to create doubt in everyone's mind. Each shooter will think his or her gun might have been empty; therefore, he or she will probably not feel guilty.

Defendants who enter a plea of innocence receive a trial. Defendants who enter a plea of guilt are sent to sentencing divisions where judges issue sentences the entire day. A plea of "no contest", or Alford plea, is considered to be a plea of guilt; therefore, a defendant who uses this plea will automatically receive a sentence. Defendants who post bail get their money back if they appear for their trials.

Felonies fall into four different categories. A Class A felony such as a robbery involving a weapon or an act of arson carries a penalty of ten to thirty years in prison. A Class B felony such as a rape or burglary mandates a prison sentence of five to ten years. Commit a Class C felony such as theft or fraud and you will probably receive a sentence of one to five years. The penalty for a Class D felony such as misdemeanor assault or misdemeanor animal abuse is a year or less in confinement.

Jails and prisons serve different purposes. Jails detain defendants awaiting a trial, sentencing or a transfer from one prison to another. Jails also confine defendants convicted of a misdemeanor up to a year. About seventy-five percent of our country's jails hold less than twenty people.