Assignment CJ

Please answer both in at least two paragraphs each.

1. A variety of mental disorders have been linked to criminal activities. 

Discuss whether criminals who have been deemed mentally ill should be incarcerated for their offenses or be housed in a mental health facility.  

Is it appropriate to incarcerate someone with a mental illness?  

Are they “getting away” with the crime if they are housed in a mental health facility instead of a prison?

2. Day fines are fines that are levied proportionally according to the severity of the crime and the financial resources of the offender.  In the case of a crime that requires more than a fine as punishment; incarceration for a determined number of days can be given. 

In the Day Fine system, incarceration is considered a financial punishment because it prevents one from going to work during that incarceration.

Day Fines are argued to be a “just” punishment because if both the high and low income population are punished with the same jail time; they should also be punished with a proportionally similar income loss.

What do you think?  Are Day Fines a reasonable alternative to more traditional types of punishment used in the United States?  What do you think of a fine being levied based on the income of the subject being fined over the crime they commit.  Would you say that is “just”?   Why or why not?