Punishment for people who break the law is decided in a court of law. In the US federal, state and local governments each have their own systems of law and of punishment. The Constitution forbids ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, but it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to decide whether a punishment is ‘cruel and unusual’. In Britain, the Scottish legal system is different from that in England and Wales, but methods of punishment are similar throughout Britain.
When an accused person is found guilty of a crime the judge decides what punishment he or she should suffer. In both Britain and the US the least serious offences are punished by fines which must be paid to the court. Fines or fixed penalties (= fines at a level decided in advance) are often imposed for minor traffic offences such as parking illegally.
If a fine is not considered adequate, a person may be sentenced to do community service (= work without pay in hospitals, homes for old people, etc.) or be put on probation (= required to have regular meetings with a social worker over a set period). When the crime committed is more serious, the convicted person is likely to be given a prison sentence. If it is their first offence the sentence may be suspended (= only carried out if the person is found guilty of another crime) and the person is allowed to remain free on a conditional discharge .
If a person is given a prison sentence its length depends on how serious their crime is and on their past record . If a person thinks the sentence is too severe he or she has the right to appeal against it in a higher court, which has the power to reduce the sentence. As a reward for good behaviour prisoners are often given remission (= are released early). Others get parole , which means that they can go free as long as they do not commit any further crimes. In the US the number of people on probation has increased in recent years, as there is not always room in prisons for all those given a prison sentence. A variety of non-custodial punishments (= ones not requiring time in prison) have been tried in both Britain and the US, including electronic tagging . This punishment requires people to stay in their homes and wear a device that informs the police if they leave.
In Britain the maximum sentence that can be handed down by a judge is a life sentence , which in fact usually means spending about 20-25 years in prison. Convicted murderers are given life sentences. The most serious punishment in the US is the death penalty . Not all states allow capital punishment , and in those that do, before it can be carried out there may be many years of appeals.