Revolutionary Period Discussion Paper
Two crimes and their respective punishments during the Revolutionary Period (1718–1797). Explain one social and one political influence these crimes and punishments had on the current U.S. criminal justice system.
Criminal Justice – Revolutionary Period
Two crimes and their respective punishments during the Revolutionary Period (1718–1797). Explain one social and one political influence these crimes and punishments had on the current U.S. criminal justice system.
The Revolutionary Period (1718-1797) did not have a distinctive American legal system. At the time, each colony had its own courts, punishments, and criminal codes. Still, this period is characterized by a reform movement that was underway to create a more unified legal system for America. The revolution sped up the reforms in the criminal justice system with victory over colonial Britain bring about an independent new justice system that sought to provide rights and protections to American citizens. The Revolutionary Period was a time of experimentation in the criminal justice as legislation and court decisions of the time formed the foundation of the current US criminal justice system (Binder, 2016). Revolutionary Period Discussion Paper
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
During the Revolutionary Period, reforms were underway to distinguish between first degree murder and second degree murder to determine which sentence was appropriate. In 1794, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted a law that recognized the difference between first and second degree murders. The legislation noted that first degree murder was a planned and deliberate act to kill and the appropriate sentence was a death penalty. In addition, it noted that second degree murder was an accidental or unplanned killing and the appropriate sentence was imprisonment. This law recognized that there are different kinds of murder, and each deserves different levels of punishment (Breyer, 2016).
The recognition of the different levels of punishment for the different kinds of murders had an influence on the current US criminal justice system. Firstly, it had a social influence by changing from the outmoded one-punishment fits all crime system that was suited to the pre-revolutionary society, to a system that was better adapted to the problems of modern society. Secondly, it had a political influence as the political system was used to shape criminal justice through legislative processes. This allowed politics to influence the laws being enacted even as it recognized the democratic majority rule (Binder, 2016).
References
Binder, G. (2016). The Oxford introductions to US law: criminal law. Oxford University Press.
Breyer, S. (2016). Against the death penalty. Brookings Institution Press.
