A sentence can be a ruling issued by a judge or court.
Sentence , from Latin sententia , is an impression or opinion that a person defends or supports. The term is used to refer to the ruling issued by a court or judge and the statement that derives from a judicial process. In this sense, a ruling is a legal resolution that allows a dispute to be ended.
The court ruling , therefore, agrees or admits the right of one of the parties in litigation . Within the framework of criminal law , this ruling determines the punishment or acquittal of the person under accusation. This means that, if the sentence is a conviction, it stipulates the penalty that corresponds to the crime in question.
The ruling consists of an expository section (which mentions the parties involved, their lawyers , the background, etc.), a consideration section (which mentions the legal and factual foundations) and a resolution section (the judge's own decision or court).
Classification of sentences
There are various classifications of sentences. An acquittal is one that finds the accused or defendant right . The conviction , on the other hand, accepts what was claimed by the accuser or plaintiff .
The ruling can be final (it does not accept that an appeal be filed), appealable (the filing of appeals is possible) or inhibitory (it does not resolve the dispute due to problems with the requirements of the process ).
For various reasons, a sentence may be unfair.
Lack of justice
We live in a world that assures us of maintaining order and judging those who invade our freedom , but many times the judges' verdicts condemn innocent people. This not only affects the accused person, but means that the true culprit will be freed in his place, with the possibility of continuing to commit crimes as he pleases, and also reduces citizens' confidence in the judicial system.
In 2010 , an American prosecutor founded the Sentencing Integrity Program , with the purpose of protecting New Yorkers. This is a plan with several objectives, which go beyond investigating claims of innocence by those who have been unjustly sentenced, but rather seeks to avoid these types of errors . The program is made up of an extensive list of experts who are intensely dedicated to the study of the integrity of sentences.
Among their tasks, they review the practices and training that authorities receive, trying to identify patterns in the most common errors made in trials, such as the summoning of false eyewitnesses, inconsistent confessions and evidence that has not gone through the proper processes to evaluate their veracity and that they have sufficient weight to be taken into account when drafting a sentence.
There are very numerous cases of convicted persons who claim their innocence, so the program must carry out a prior investigation of each one in particular to determine their authenticity and importance, based on a series of parameters that allow them to help those who need it most. first. The team of people that make up this organization includes criminal justice experts, both jurists and retired prosecutors, who are dedicated to advising prosecutors on ways to improve practices to avoid the imprisonment of a person who has not committed a crime. .
This is a particular case, but there are similar programs in other countries, and their effectiveness is proof that a change is possible and necessary , especially when it comes to depriving someone of their freedom, condemning them to a life of suffering. which will never be recovered, not to mention those who receive the death penalty .
Other meanings of the term sentence
Other uses of the concept of sentence are linked to expressions that transmit a doctrinal or moral thought and to the resolution of a confrontation by an arbitrator.
In computing , finally, a sequence with instructions that specify different operations is called a sentence.