Sentencing Policy in Indian Criminal Justice System: An Analysis with Reference to Compoundable Offences

The Supreme Court decision in the now-infamous case Francis Karioko Muruatetu v Republic1 seemed to settle the enduring debate whether sentencing is a judicial or a legislative function. The court’s ruling was that sentencing is a judicial function and that the mandatory nature of the death penalty for murder2 was unconstitutional because it took away the courts’ discretion to determine a just and proportionate punishment to impose on a convicted person. In its judgment, the court ordered that the judiciary sentencing policy3 be revised to reflect the court’s guidelines on the obligation of courts to listen to the accused’s mitigation before sentencing. The court also directed that a framework for sentence rehearing be prepared immediately to allow applicants who had been sentenced in circumstances similar to those of the petitioners to apply for sentence a rehearing from the trial court. This article examines the aftermath of this judgment in terms of whether the Supreme Court’s decision helped to cure the challenge that lies in the current sentencing process; achieving coherence and proportionality in the sentencing process. By using jurisprudential arguments, we intend to demonstrate that, despite the court’s direction to all courts to ensure that no person should be subjected to a disproportionate sentence, the problem of disproportional sentencing is one that goes beyond merely reviewing of the sentencing guidelines but also demands a reform of the entire criminal justice system.

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Discreet Discretion and Moderate Moderation in Judicial Sentencing: A commentary on Kenya’s Sentencing Policy Guidelines, 2016

Strathmore Law Journal ◽

10.52907/slj.v3i1.33 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 89-112

Author(s):

Harrison O Mbori

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Justice System ◽

Cultural Development ◽

Judicial System ◽

Sentencing Guidelines ◽

Criminal Sentencing ◽

Administration Of Justice ◽

Sentencing Policy

Criminal sentencing is an integral part in any judicial system for the fair administration of justice. The process of sentencing and the standards applied by judicial officers has, however, been a notoriously difficult component in many criminal law systems. In Kenya, sentencing has been blamed as one of the sources of ‘popular dissatisfaction with the administration of justice’ to borrow from Roscoe Pound. This was the impetus for the Kenyan Judiciary to introduce the Sentencing Policy Guidelines, 2016 (SPGs). This paper is a general commentary, critique, and analysis of the SPGs. The author argues that SPGs come at an instructive epoch in Kenya’s economic, socio-political, and cultural development. This contribution is not a polemic on the Kenyan SPGs. The commentary makes sideglances to various jurisdictions that have had a longer experience with sentencing guidelines. The article forecasts that Kenyan SPGs will, despite its few shortcomings, nevertheless, prove to be important for all judicial officers involved in Kenya’s criminal justice system.

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5. The criminal justice system

Introduction to the English Legal System 2019-2020 ◽

10.1093/he/9780198838838.003.0005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 91-155

Author(s):

Martin Partington

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Current System ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

System P ◽

Social Theories ◽

Sentencing Policy ◽

Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. It contains summaries of the different social theories that underpin both the criminal justice system and the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. This chapter emphasizes the holistic approach by looking not only at what happens in courts, but also the police station and in post-trial contexts such as parole and criminal cases review. The place of the victim in the system is also considered. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing in the quest for improved efficiency.

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5. The criminal justice system

Introduction to the English Legal System 2017-2018 ◽

10.1093/he/9780198802488.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Partington

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Current System ◽

System P ◽

Social Theories ◽

Sentencing Policy ◽

Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. The chapter contains a summary of the different social theories that underpin the system as well as the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing.

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Paying the Trial Tax: Race, Guilty Pleas, and Disparity in Prosecution

Criminal Justice Policy Review ◽

10.1177/0887403419838025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 500-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexander Testa ◽

Brian D. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Justice System ◽

Young Male ◽

Gender Disparities ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Theoretical Perspectives ◽

Different Types ◽

Sentencing Policy

The vast majority of criminal cases are disposed of through guilty pleas, yet relatively little empirical research focuses on the factors that are related to whether a defendant pleads guilty or goes to trial. The current work investigates this issue, analyzing three recent years of data from the Maryland Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy. It examines predictors of guilty plea and trial dispositions as well as key differences among different types of guilty pleas. Findings indicate that Black and Latino defendants are substantially less likely to plead guilty, and that these differences are most pronounced for nonnegotiated guilty pleas. Little evidence emerges for gender disparities or for compound disadvantages associated with young, male, minority defendants. Results are discussed as they relate to contemporary theoretical perspectives on racial differences in perceived legitimacy and trust in the criminal justice system.

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5. The criminal justice system

Introduction to the English Legal System 2018-19 ◽

10.1093/he/9780198818861.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Partington

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Current System ◽

System P ◽

Social Theories ◽

Sentencing Policy ◽

Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. It contains a summary of the different social theories that underpin the system as well as the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing in the quest for improved efficiency.

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5. The criminal justice system

10.1093/he/9780198852926.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 92-159

Author(s):

Martin Partington

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Police Station ◽

System P ◽

Social Theories ◽

Sentencing Policy ◽

Post Trial

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. It contains summaries of the different social theories that underpin both the criminal justice system and the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. This chapter emphasizes the holistic approach by looking not only at what happens in courts, but also the police station and in post-trial contexts such as parole and criminal cases review. The place of the victim in the system is also considered. Attention is given to the need to improve the criminal justice system.

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