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The Role of Criminal History in Sentencing Theory and Practice
Košatka, Martin ; Richter, Martin (referee)
158 The Role of Criminal History in Sentencing Theory and Practice Abstract While criminal history enhancements are ubiquitous, they are also a theoretically problematic practice. The distinction between retributive and utilitarian punishment theory was introduced, while typical approaches within these theories of punishment were described and subjected to critical analysis. None of these approaches was found to offer a complete and workable sentencing system. The hybrid theory of limiting retributivism was presented and suggested as a realistic and pragmatic approach. The approaches to sentencing repeat offenders were considered and mutually confronted. Neither the retributive nor the utilitarian approaches were found to be sufficient justifications for broad criminal history enhancements. Enhanced culpability and limiting retributivist models of criminal history enhancements were found theoretically unconvincing but usable in practice as approaches ensuring proportionality. Almost no evidence was found for a coherent justification for enhanced punishment for repeat offenders in Czechia. The legal framework was assessed as too vague and imprecise regarding criminal history enhancements. Policy suggestions based on Roberts and Frase's hybrid model were offered to achieve clearer limits of the criminal...
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The Role of Criminal History in Sentencing Theory and Practice
Košatka, Martin ; Drápal, Jakub (advisor) ; Bohuslav, Lukáš (referee)
158 The Role of Criminal History in Sentencing Theory and Practice Abstract While criminal history enhancements are ubiquitous, they are also a theoretically problematic practice. The distinction between retributive and utilitarian punishment theory was introduced, while typical approaches within these theories of punishment were described and subjected to critical analysis. None of these approaches was found to offer a complete and workable sentencing system. The hybrid theory of limiting retributivism was presented and suggested as a realistic and pragmatic approach. The approaches to sentencing repeat offenders were considered and mutually confronted. Neither the retributive nor the utilitarian approaches were found to be sufficient justifications for broad criminal history enhancements. Enhanced culpability and limiting retributivist models of criminal history enhancements were found theoretically unconvincing but usable in practice as approaches ensuring proportionality. Almost no evidence was found for a coherent justification for enhanced punishment for repeat offenders in Czechia. The legal framework was assessed as too vague and imprecise regarding criminal history enhancements. Policy suggestions based on Roberts and Frase's hybrid model were offered to achieve clearer limits of the criminal...
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Impacts on men's mental health when limiting their personal freedom- from the perspective of people working with this target group
KROPÍKOVÁ, Markéta
The diploma thesis deals with the impact on men's mental health when personal freedom is restricted from the point of view of people working with this target group. It is based on the results of the research "Psychological aspects of the consequences of criminal activity in convicted men serving a prison sentence" from 2019, conducted by Mgr. Marie Ouředníková. This work thus shows a view of life in custody or prison from the other side of the bars. It thus reveals the rules that prevail here among men who face the strict regime of the prison every day, but also the internal hierarchy itself. Such an environment subsequently negatively affects the mental health of the men who have to deal with it, in different ways. The diploma thesis reflects these impacts and thus gives a comprehensive view of the mentioned issue. It also has up-to-date research and statistics pointing to current events in such an environment, such as institutions restricting personal freedom. The diploma thesis is divided into a theoretical and a practical part. In the practical part, there is a description of the research methodology itself, followed by Ouředníková's reflected results with the opinions of people with professional experience in this practice.
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The imposition of the punitive measure of unconditional imprisonment on juveniles and its execution
Stará, Renata ; Vokoun, Rudolf (advisor) ; Mulák, Jiří (referee)
The imposition of the punitive measure of unconditional imprisonment on juveniles and its execution Abstract This rigorous work deals with the imposition of the punitive measure of unconditional imprisonment on juveniles and its execution and aims to expound the process of imposing and executing this most severe criminal measure. The aim of the thesis is also to point out the lack of legal regulation and its practice. In general, juvenile criminal law is very specific as juveniles are individuals who are still developing; the chapters of this thesis are therefore focused mainly on the specifics by which unconditional imprisonment of juveniles differs from unconditional imprisonment of adults. Even though the application of diversions and alternative punishments is, according to the principle of restorative justice, currently preferred, the issue of unconditional imprisonment is still often discussed, which is why I believe that it is still a topical issue. The thesis is divided into six successive chapters; the merit of the thesis is covered mainly in the third and fourth chapter. The first chapter is focused on the substantive and procedural specifics of juvenile criminal law which are reflected in various criminal law issues. The beginning of this chapter deals with the history of juvenile criminal law....
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Sentencing decisions around quantity thresholds: theory and experiment
Drápal, Jakub ; Šoltés, Michal
We study the implications of the structure of criminal codes on sentencing decisions. To limit sentencing disparities, criminal codes typically divide offenses into subsections with specific sentencing ranges. The classification into corresponding subsections often depends on exceeding a given quantity threshold, such as drug amount. We study the consequences of these quantity thresholds on sentencing decisions and argue that the threshold effect can be decomposed into two opposing mechanisms: the severity mechanism and the reference one. An experiment with Czech prosecutors shows that thresholds drive substantial increases in sentences, leading to sentencing disparities. We further introduce empirical measures of (in)justice and quantify the consequences of quantity thresholds on the probability of imposing a just sentence.
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Alternatives to unconditional sentence of imprisonment
Skoumalová, Barbora ; Šelleng, Dalibor (advisor) ; Krupička, Jiří (referee)
- 105 - THESIS TITLE, ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS Alternatives to unconditional imprisonment This master thesis focuses on alternatives to unconditional imprisonment. The main objective of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive analysis of alternative sentences and the basis for their imposition. The thesis includes a detailed analysis of each alternative punishment, including its historical context, the specifics of its imposition, execution and supervision. In order to maintain the integrity of the topic, the first part offers an insight into punishment and defines the purpose of punishment in general. Attention is also paid to the description of unconditional imprisonment, which is necessary to further understand the concept of alternative sentences as well as to compare the pros and cons of different arrangements. The greatest emphasis in this thesis lies on providing a detailed analysis of alternatives to unconditional imprisonment that are capable of fully replacing the unconditional imprisonment. Specifically, these include suspended imprisonment, suspended imprisonment with supervision, house arrest, financial penalty and community service. However, attention is also paid to all other alternative punishments offered by the current Czech Penal Code. For the sake of completeness, the penalties that...
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Unconditional imprisonment
Bednářová, Marina ; Tlapák Navrátilová, Jana (advisor) ; Galovcová, Ingrid (referee)
Unconditional imprisonment Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the legal institute of unconditional imprisonment. This type of punishment will always be a current issue due to its specific position, because it is, within criminal law, the only primary type of criminal sanction for violation of legally protected interests and, at the same time, it can be imposed for any criminal offense. The addressees of the law also perceive it as the harshest punishment that can be imposed on perpetrators of crimes. The legal regulation of this institute is very detailed but also somewhat fragmented, so the goal of this thesis is to provide a complex and comprehensive picture of this institute, with many partial parts presented by statistical data to better demonstrate the issue. The first chapter of the diploma thesis is devoted to the theoretical concept and definition of unconditional imprisonment, which includes its historical development on the territory of this country and also presents alternatives to unconditional imprisonment, as well as conditional imprisonment. The next part of the thesis focuses on the sentencing to unconditional imprisonment, which can be divided into two parts, the theoretical part includes the principles of sentencing, mitigating and aggravating circumstances and sentencing of specific...
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Imposing punishments on adults
Koubová, Michaela ; Heranová, Simona (advisor) ; Mulák, Jiří (referee)
Imposing punishments on adults Abstract This thesis deals with the imposition of punishments on adult offenders. The introductory chapters are devoted first to the definition of the concept of punishment and its position in relation to protections measures, and then to the system of punishment, within which the different types of punishment and their classification according to various criteria are discussed. A substantial part of the work is devoted to the interpretation of the issue of the purpose of punishment, which is the starting point for the imposition of punishment. The purpose of punishment is described using the three main theories of punishment, namely retributive, utilitarian and mixed theories. These theories, their approach to the purpose of punishment and their historical development are discussed in more detail, including their various modifications. This chapter also deals with the purpose of punishment in the Czech legal system and, in connection, with the question of the primary and secondary purpose of punishment. This chapter also includes a separate discussion of the issue of general and individual prevention, which is important in terms of distinguishing the different approaches to the purpose of punishment according to the above-mentioned theories of punishment. Closely related to...
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Sentencing in the Czech Republic: An Empirical Investigation
Drápal, Jakub ; Dušek, Libor (advisor) ; van Wingerden, Sigrid (referee) ; Johnson, Brian (referee)
Sentencing in the Czech Republic: An Empirical Investigation Abstract Sentencing is in many respects still terra incognita. This holds true especially for other countries than common law ones and those in the Western and Northern Europe. This dissertation thus empirically studies sentencing practices in the Czech Republic using quantitative methods. It is composed of four articles focusing on various sentencing issues: Firstly, on the influence of judicial experience on sentencing using longitudinal data analyzing judges' trajectories from 2008 onward. It shows that increasing experience reduces inter-judge disparity. Secondly, on analyzing previously underappreciated measure to achieve policy change: Informal authority of the supreme institutions. In 2016 the Prosecutor General's Office and the Supreme Court organized several meetings and seminars for prosecutors and judges in order to persuade them to impose more fines. This paper illustrates that these informal tools might have been underappreciated as they are highly effective. The third paper is dedicated to studying a particular extra-legal characteristics influencing sentencing in Prague: The weather. It builds both on psychological literature showing that weather influences mood and mood often impacts behavior and decision-making and on previous US...
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Reasons Provided for Sentences as the Only Manifestation of Accountability for Sentencing Discretion: New Solution to An Old Issue
Drápal, Jakub
The inssuficient quality of reasoning for the sentences imposed provided by Czech courts has often been criticized by the academia, the legislator, and even the judiciary itself. In this paper I present a new way tu structure the process of providing reasons for sentences imposed which incites judges to explicitly state all the factors influencing sentences, with special focus on the weight each factors carries and how are all factors considered together when arriving at the final sentence. Procedural simplicity and efficiency is sought in order to ensure its easiest application in practice.
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