Section 4 After the Trial

The trial is over, the verdict is in. What happens next? Almost everyone knows that if the accused is found guilty, the next step is sentencing, but not many people understand precisely what is involved in this process. Sentencing seems always to have been shrouded in mystery. What about appeals? Can anyone found guilty appeal the decision? If so, how is it done? And once a convicted criminal is sent to a correctional institute, what happens then? What different sorts of institutions are there, and what roles do they play in the system?

In this section you will be looking at questions like these.

When you have finished the section, you should be able to:

• explain the process of sentencing,
  

• describe what is involved in the appeal process,
  

• explain, at a general level, the working conditions of the correctional system,

• analyze a challenging issue in the area of criminal law and propose a solution.