Public Perceptions of Punitive Penalties
The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this week on the basis of the course competencies covered.
For this assignment, make sure you post your initial response to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned.
To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use the South University Online Library. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.
From the South University Online Library, read the following article:
- Impact of Information about Sentencing Decisions on Public Attitudes toward the Criminal Justice System (Also available as a PDF)
On the basis of your reading, summarize the article, including the research questions, methodology, data sources, and findings of the study. In addition, respond to the following questions:
- What were the key research questions being explored in this study?
- How did the researchers collect the data? How did these methods impact the findings?
- What were the general findings regarding the public’s perceptions of sentencing practices within the criminal justice system?
- What does the article demonstrate about the limitations of survey research? What limitations do the authors acknowledge with their own study?
- What does this study indicate about public perceptions of sentencing policy? What are the potential implications of these findings on the operation of the criminal justice system?