Posted: July 23rd, 2022

Reaction Paper

Choose 1 of the following topics for your reaction paper:

The Criminal Justice System is based on the notion of fairness. What does fairness mean and how does racial discrimination undermine fairness? Why do some people say that the Criminal Justice System serves to protect the powerful rather than everyone in society? What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking discretion away from people who work in the criminal justice system (judges, police officers, correctional officers, wardens – choose at least one of these or others who work in the system)?
Out of the five basic philosophical reasons for punishment (retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, restorative justice), which do you believe best reflects society’s expectations for justice in modern times? Is your chosen philosophy more beneficial for a) the victim, b) the criminal, c) the criminal justice system, or d) society?

introduction

attention grabber (start with a quote, a statistic, a startling fact, a brief story)

thesis statement

preview of main points

main body points with evidence from 4-5 scholarly sources (scholarly journal articles, government reports, books)

conclusion

sum up the main points

provide closure (quote, reference the introduction, identify where there needs to be more research)

APA citation for your sources