Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Drug dealers, Prison sentences
Abstract
A great deal of criminological literature asserts that many non-violent drug offenders are being unnecessarily incarcerated in our nation's prisons. This argument suggests that those offenders typically specialize solely in drug crimes and alternative sanctions would be the most logical and cost-effective way to handle this growing segment of offenders. The purpose of the current research is to examine sentences for non-violent drug convictions and to assess whether presumably non-violent drug offenders pose a significant risk or threat to public safety. An analysis of a sample of 530 convicted drug offenders shows the majority do indeed have significant criminal histories or elements in current offenses that indicate a possible threat to public safety. This analysis contradicts the arguments of criminologists who assert that incarcerated drug offenders are relatively harmless victims of an irrational criminal justice system.
Year of Submission
2009
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
First Advisor
Keith B. Crew, Chair
Date Original
12-2009
Object Description
1 PDF file (vii, 59 leaves : color illustrations ; 28 cm)
Copyright
©2009 Christopher Joseph Koch
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Koch, Christopher Joseph, "Evaluating the sentencing of non-violent drug offenders" (2009). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1376.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1376
Comments
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