The value of sentencing drug offenders: a critical analysis of law and policy

Forsythe-Yorke, Wulfram (2022) The value of sentencing drug offenders: a critical analysis of law and policy. Masters thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The intention of sentencing is to achieve justice for all those involved in a crime, the offender, the victim, and society. In this thesis the value of sentencing drug offenders is assessed through three components: its appropriateness, proportionality, and its effectiveness.

The thesis first describes the concept of Proportionality, which lies at the heart of contemporary sentencing law. Second, the drug situation in England & Wales and prohibition of drugs, upon which sentencing law is based, are outlined. The third chapter outlines… the drugs laws and their application, followed by a review of the empirical effectiveness of the procedures and outcomes of sentencing of convicted drug offenders in the non-custodial and prison settings with a commentary on five prisons’ annual reports, and with an examination of some appeal cases in drug cases. This is followed by a consideration of diversionary schemes and their effectiveness.

Then finally the thesis discusses the evidence in the preceding parts and presents the conclusions. It is clear that sentencing law fails to distinguish adequately between the types of ‘Drug Offenders’: traffickers and major suppliers should be subject to and punished under the criminal law, but users by contrast, including those who produce or grow controlled drugs, for their own use, or meet together on non-profit making premises, are punished too severely and should be diverted out of the criminal justice system and, if necessary, cared for by the health services.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2023 11:08
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2023 11:08
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/91137
DOI:

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