This is a system that is formed by a set of agencies that are formed by the government so that they can control crime and impose penalties on any who breaks or violate the laws. The most common systems in the US include state, federal, and military systems. Most of the criminal justice systems are made up of five components which include the following; law enforcement, defense attorneys, courts, prosecution, and corrections. Law enforcement is entitled to carrying out an investigation, gathering and protecting the evidence, and arresting suspects. Prosecution consists of lawyers who represent the government and they are the drivers of any case because they decide whether a case presented is strong enough and also engage all player from the start to the end of a case. Defense attorneys defend the suspect from what he or she has been accused of by the government. Courts are mandated with deciding whether a suspect is guilty or not according to the evidence tabled. Corrections are institutions where a suspect is taken after being sentenced guilty (Cole et al, 2018). Each process is required to be working perfectly for justice to prevail.
Crime
They are many types of crimes and each carries different magnitude, therefore, no single crime that can be taken with the same weight as the other. In this case, we will focus on murder and arson crime which is also classified as a capital crime. We will use the case study of Heather Raftery and his boyfriend Brandon Bledsoe who were charged with killing and touching a seventy-year-old man. She was accused of being an accomplice where his boyfriend used a twenty-two-caliber rifle in shooting Mr. Burdett several times in his bed. After which they poured gasoline on his body and setting the whole premises on fire in a plan to cover up their crime. The crime which was supposed to be burglary took a new twist after they committed murder.
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Criminal Justice Process:
We will discuss how criminal justice works especially in this case. The case starts with law enforcers arresting Heather Raftery and his boyfriend after they were tipped off by the public due to several burns on the arms, hands, and face that his boyfriend received when he was starting the fire. The evidence is made stronger by the presence of the goods they had stolen in one of their homes. Miss Raftery is charged with helping in murder as well as stealing and also setting the home and the body on fire. At this point, she would have a preliminary hearing and be provided with an attorney if she does not have one. It also at this where the bail will be determined but according to her case, it may be denied due to the weight of the case although she may argue her case to get bail by stating she was under threat during the crime from his boyfriend. At this stage the prosecution tables its evidence and judge decide whether the case will continue to the trials or whether the suspect will be released (Cole et al, 2018). But in this case, the evidence was enough for the case to proceed to trials. It is also at this preliminary hearing that defendant pleas whether he or is guilty or not guilty. If she says she is guilty, the process will jump to the sentencing stage but if she claims she is not guilty, the court proceeds to trials.
Trial process
The trials stage is usually the most hectic stage according to the weight of the case. For small cases, it is just a small procedure but for big cases, it is very hectic. This is because both sides will exhaust any evidence they have to work to their advantage and may take a very long time before the case ends. The case of Miss Raftery is a huge case therefore if both sides have strong evidence, the hearing may take a while before it is concluded.
Plea Agreement
This is the stage where many cases are resolved. The plea agreement means that the defendant plead guilty to some of the charges and the prosecution drops the other charges or she pleads guilty to all charges and the prosecution recommends a lenient sentence for her. At this case, Miss Raftery may plead guilty of burglary and by torching the house and use the evidence being abused by his boyfriend so that the prosecution can drop the charge of murder or plead guilty of all charges so that the prosecution can recommend a life imprisonment instead of a death sentence.
Trial
If Miss Raftery does not agree to a plea agreement, her case will proceed to trials where it will be held before a judge or judge and jury depending on how serious the crime or other factors. The prosecutor and the defense attorney present evidence and scrutinize the evidence and all the witnesses presented in order to score points that would help the case lean on their side. At this point, both lawyers will use anything or anyone whom that they see as if they will help them win the case (Cole et al, 2018).
If the defense has a strong attorney, he or she may help in overturning the case or help the defendant in getting a lenient sentence. Due to the evidence presented, the judge may find the defendant not guilty which and will release her. If her lawyer were able to argue that she did not take part in the murder she may only be found guilty of charges of stealing alone. She can argue that her boyfriend assaulted her when she tried to stop him from shooting the elderly man which could be explained by the black eye she had during the time of arrest which would attract lesser sentence. If the judge finds that there is enough evidence he or she will find the defendant guilty and will go ahead in sentencing her or set a date for sentencing.
Sentencing
Before the sentencing, the victims are allowed to prepare a victim impact statement on how the crime affected them. In this case, there will be none since the main victim was dead but the prosecutor may use the chance to explain how the victim may have felt or how the society may have been affected by the crime. The judge usually has a range of choices before sentencing and the include; probation restitution, fines, jail or the death penalty (Cole et al, 2018). In the case of Miss Raftery, if the defense was able to convince the judge that she did not participate in murder, she could get a jail term of several years, fine and a high possibility of getting probation.
If they presented that she is an accomplice in murder although it was not her decision to do so, the judge may sentence her to life imprisonment with a chance of getting parole for good behavior after spending a minimum of 25 years in prison. If the judge is convinced that she willingly took part in murder and arson, the judge will sentence her the death penalty. The judge will also decide on which correction facility that she will be taken depending on the evidence provided as well personality and history of the defendant on matters relating to crime.
Weakest and Strongest Links in the Criminal Justice Process.
There no system that has ever been established without its perfections or flaws. A strong link can turn into a weak link and the vice versa is true. The criminal justice system is also affected by this fact. To start with, one of the strongest links in the system is the use of multi-agency in controlling crime. It helps in specialization in different fields by each agency which helps the system in delivering justice as required. The same link can be used to sabotage the whole process, for example, if one of the agencies is corrupt, it will affect the whole process. To start with if the law enforcement is corrupt, they will be reluctant to arrest lawbreakers or they would present poor evidence in court which will not help in prosecuting the criminals. This agency may also collude with suspect in altering with the evidence in order to weaken the case. If the courts are corrupt, they will influence the end results, they may set free criminals, they jail or fine innocent suspects just because they are not influential, they may derail the hearing process and many more vices. If the correction facilities are corrupt they may act in favor of the convicts like releasing them back to the society where they are unwanted (Reiman & Leighton, 2015).
Another weak link is the plea agreement because it causes most defendant to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit because they don’t have the power to hire a powerful lawyer and if their case goes into trials they would get a tougher sentence even though they are innocent. This aspect usually affects the poor who are unable to hire the right attorneys who would have represented them and help them win the case. The strongest aspect of this system is that they are open and provide justice at its best. The system allows the provision of evidence by both sides therefore if everything works as supposed to, the justice will prevail (Cole et al, 2018). It helps those that are wrongly accused to clean their name as well as avenge the victims who may be in helpless positions through the office of the prosecutor. This office provides free services to the crime victims by representing them in court against the suspect who may even be powerful people in the government. It also gives the defendant an opportunity to be represented in court by a state attorney if he or she is not in position to hire his or her lawyer.
In conclusion, the criminal justice system is one of the best systems that work so perfectly. It helps in taming crime and make sure the laws are adhered to as they are supposed. Even if some individuals have tried to influence the system, the presence of several agencies that are independent of each other helps in containing this vice. Therefore, anyone should feel comfortable using the system because it will make sure that you will get justice. The system also allows small variation in the process in state courts. This allows different states to create laws within their region that mostly affect individuals of that area using the national guidelines.
References
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2018). The American system of criminal justice . Cengage Learning.
Reiman, J., & Leighton, P. (2015). Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, The (Subscription): Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice . Routledge.
