The problem of resocialization of convicts and the effect of particular penalties on this process is a subject rather relatively neglected, but at the same time socially and legally fundamental. The success of the resocialization of offenders affects not only the entire criminal policy but also society as a whole. However, the view on this social dilemma is evolving over time. We do not longer examine the punishment as mere retribution, rather we expect it to protect society and have a positive effect on the convict. We also realize that most of the sentencing does not mean permanent exclusion from society. Therefore, the consequences of any sentence also affect us, the society. This phenomenon led me to analyze the three most severe sentences: imprisonment, house arrest, and community service. Gradually, I tried to investigate the outcome of the effects of these sentences on the offender's personality. During the analysis, I decided not to only benefit from the secondary data consisting of acknowledged publications, articles, studies, and concepts, but I also acquired findings from several interviews with experts within the sphere and convicts themselves. This allowed deep penetration into the topic not only from a theoretical point of view but also from a practical one. In the thesis, I critically...

1 Unconditional imprisonment Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the issue of unconditional imprisonment, which is the most severe punishment of all criminal sanctions, because it represents the most serious interference with the offender's fundamental rights and freedoms and also a universal punishment because it can be imposed for every crime contained in a special part of the Criminal Code. At the same time, unconditional imprisonment is an ultima ratio and should be imposed in cases where the imposition of a less severe criminal sanction is not sufficient. The purpose of serving a custodial sentence is to reduce the likelihood of recidivism and to encourage convicts to lead a self-sufficient life in accordance with the law after release. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive summary of the issue of unconditional imprisonment and to map and critically analyze the current state of Czech prisons. The work is divided into six chapters. The first chapter deals with the definition of the concept and purpose of unconditional imprisonment. The second chapter is then focused on the legal regulation of this punishment. The third chapter discusses the general principles of imposing criminal sanctions, the rules for imposing an unconditional sentence of imprisonment and, last but not least, the...

Problems of juvenile justice In my diploma thesis I deal with the issue of criminal justice over youth. Using the research analytical method, I try to describe juvenile delinquency, its causes, the development of juvenile delinquency in our territory and current legislation. I also devote other parts of the work to specific means of sanctioning young people, especially protective upbringing and imprisonment in its unconditional form. I am also subjecting the current legal regulation of these institutes to a comparison with other European regulations, from which we could be inspired when regulating the system of criminal justice over young people. I supplement the theoretical basis with statistics on juvenile delinquency and the administration of juvenile justice in the years 2016-2020 in order to provide an overview of not only the theoretical side, but also current practice. Keywords: Juvenile, youth, offenses, measures, protective upbringing, imprisonment

Alternatives to unconditional sentence of imprisonment Abstract This Master's thesis deals with the topic of alternatives to unconditional sentence of imprisonment whose purpose is to eliminate negative consequences associated with imprisonment. The thesis consists of an introduction, nine chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter is dedicated to punishment itself as a term, its purpose and functions and its elementary principles. The second one deals with penal system, sentencing and hierarchy of penalties as well as history of this topic and even an evolution of imprisonment. Furthermore, this chapter gives an insight into the penal policy, its development and individual elements which has an impact on its adjustment and functioning. These chapters are cornerstone for the rest of the thesis. The aim of the fourth chapter is the evaluation of all negative impacts of unconditional sentence of imprisonment on both the prisoners and society. It also evaluates significant economic consequences. The fifth chapter is centered on definition of both substantive and procedural alternative measures and activities of the Probation and Mediation Service which are crucial to alternative sentences enforcement. The sixth chapter is devoted to a complex analysis of essence of alternative measures also focuses on their...

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Law Ing. Viera Krajňáková THE ISSUES OF EXCEPTIONAL PUNISHMENT Diploma thesis Abstract The Supervisor of Diploma thesis: doc. JUDr. Jana Tlapák Navrátilová, Ph.D. Department of Criminal Law Date of elaboration of Diploma thesis (closing the manuscript): 6. 9. 2021 THE ISSUES OF EXCEPTIONAL PUNISHMENT ABSTRACT The diploma thesis is focused on the description and evaluation of the basic forms of exceptional punishment, as they are known by the Czech legal system and legal systems of selected European states. The introductory part deals with the meaning and purpose of the institution of punishment as such and the basic streams of thought dealing with the justification of punishment as an intentional harm caused to the offender for the committed crime. The second part of the thesis analyzes the historical development of the types of punishments in relation to the development of its function, from various physical punishments through the death penalty to the modern imprisonment of a limited duration or for life. In the following sections, I tried to describe and evaluate the death penalty itself from the point of view of its conformity with the basic human rights, from the point of view of arguments presented by retentionists and abolitionists, its current use in various...

Problematics of extraordinary punishment - Abstract The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview about a criminal law's legal institute of the extraordinary punishment. In this thesis I will comprise historical development of this legal institute and its connection with the death penalty. The first chapter is focused on defining the concept of punishment and its purpose, along with punishment theories. I will compare both theories with the extraordinary punishment. Subsequently I will deal with the historical development of punishment in the Czech republic in general, and than focus on the strictest penalties and finally I will represent historical develompent of the extraordinary punishment. The third chapter deals with the death penalty and its context. At the beginning I will shortly mention the history of the death penalty and than I will introduce situation in the world about the death punishment. Mostly this chapter analysis the arguments of supporter and opponents of the death penalty. In the fourth chapter I will deal with international sources that influenced the national adjustment of exceptional punishment primarily on the performance of imprisonment. The fifth part of my work will be based on the definition of substantive and processing provisions of the national adjustment of...

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of a pecuniary punishment with a focus on the latest amendment in this area made by the Act No. 333/2020 Coll. The aim of this diploma thesis is to provide an analysis of the current legislation of pecuniary punishment, including an analysis of the causes of the low number of pecuniary punishments imposed. For the evaluation of the legislation the author used academic literature, case law and statistical data, while these sources showed that there is still room for improvement of the effective legal regulation. To understand the broader context, the reader will find in the first part general introduction to the issue of a pecuniary punishment. In this part the diploma thesis also deals with the advantages and disadvantages of a pecuniary punishment and analyses practice. The following second part focuses on regulation of pecuniary punishment in the substantial law. It describes the legal requirements for the imposition of a pecuniary punishment, deals with the drawbacks of the daily-fine system and also defines the range of crimes punishable by a pecuniary punishment. The third part deals with the procedural regulation of a pecuniary punishment. In particular, it focuses on the role of the public prosecutor in imposing a pecuniary punishment, draws attention...

Resocialization of individuals based on the execution of a sentence is a very demanding process, which is not always successful. It is influenced by number of factors, such as personality, physical and mental condition, or family background. We, as social workers, must make a huge effort to strive for successful resocialization. We cannot influence the above-mentioned factors, but we should make great efforts to motivate the client, and employment with education can help us to do so. Firstly, prison was mentioned in the history, then individual terms were introduced, the Prison Service of the Czech Republic was described, the consequences of staying in prison was mentioned, the issue of resocialization of offenders from excluded localities was summarised and drug-free zones in prisons and treatment programs were described. The chapter on employment summarized this issue, current figures, specific examples and future plans of the Prison Service. The chapter on education introduced formal and non-formal education, educational opportunities for convicts, educational activities of non-governmental non-profit organizations and the educational function of clergy. In the practical part, a questionnaire survey was conducted with professional staff of the Prison Service. Respondents stated that employment...

There is widespread agreement among researchers, policy experts, and community advocates that the United States’ mass incarceration system is a policy failure. Despite bipartisan consensus and sporadic reform attempts, the policies and systems ravaging low-income families and communities of color remain largely intact. Formerly incarcerated people have been driving the social movement to dismantle mass incarceration since the movement’s inception, yet their advocacy efforts and creation of alternative programmatic and policy approaches have only recently been acknowledged and documented and have yet to be implemented widely. Through this study, I aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge about the advocacy work of women impacted by the justice system by documenting the ethos, practices, and strategies of Theater for Social Change (TSC), a performance arts-based advocacy group composed of formerly incarcerated women in service of justice system transformation. Using action research methodology, I employed dialogic and iterative processes, in partnership with TSC, to develop interview and focus group protocols and analyze data. I also undertook a thematic analysis of post-performance audience discussions, as well as the scenes and monologues created by the ensemble over the years. This research project found that the ensemble way of working—defined by Radosavljević (2013) as “collective, creative, and collaborative”—enabled TSC to develop and model the type of caring and self-organized community and capacity development, per Nixon et al. (2008), that they envision for currently and formerly incarcerated women and their families and communities to create conditions for a just and equitable society. The ensemble way of working nurtured a sisterhood and enabled the exploration of individual and shared experiences of the trauma of incarceration, as well as overcoming systemic inequalities through higher education and career success in a safe and supportive space. Performing scenes and monologues developed from personal stories allows TSC to control its advocacy messages, challenge stereotypes, and create new narratives about the worth of formerly incarcerated people. Theater and post-performance discussions also enable ensemble members to model and employ their multilevel expertise: personal experience navigating the justice system; professional expertise in reentry, mental health and human services; and advocacy leadership.

This dissertation describes the role of architects in the development of the prison system in the United States. In the late eighteenth century, penologists sought to standardize conditions in penal institutions and to develop reliable methods for the social conditioning of inmates. Architects designed prisons that embodied the standards of penal theory, arguing that the form of an institution could serve as a powerful means of assuring that prison routine adhered to the dictates of modern penology. While early prison architects focused upon the development of a standard institutional type, the growth of the penal bureaucracy in the twentieth century forced them to develop a structural vocabulary commensurate with the scale of the modern prison system. They broke the prison down into a series of flexible components, each of which could function effectively in diverse institutional contexts. As criminologists sought to address the ostensible urban crisis in the 1960s, moreover, architects envisioned the extension of the new carceral infrastructure to the city. These techniques served the standardization of the prison system in the twentieth century. Like the early prison architects, modern designers sought to make each element of their structural vocabulary determinative of the activities of inmates and guards in penal institutions. By freeing these elements from the compositional order of early penal institutions, moreover, architects facilitated the rapid expansion of the prison system and the extension of carceral space into new contexts. By the 1970s, the refinement of advanced techniques for the construction of prisons meant that architects no longer played a pivotal role in shaping the prison system. As legal policymakers abandoned rehabilitative penology and emphasized the punitive function of confinement, the techniques of efficient prison construction developed by architects served a massive institutional building campaign whose sole justification was the incapacitation and segregation of the inmate population.