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Why might the judge rather than the jury be responsible for sentencing?

2 Answers

8 votes

Answer:

The jury is asked to decide, based on evidence presented, if the defendant has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charges against them. They have a limited knowledge of the law, and are told what parts of the law pertain to the case they are assigned to.

Sentencing can take into account other aspects of the law, and prior convictions the defendant may have.

Some jurors, if they knew the sentence that the defendant would receive, might not want to declare the defendant guilty, even if they are, to avoid what they perceive to be severe punishment.

Sorry if this was too much

Step-by-step explanation:

User Ezon Zhao
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The jury is a lot of people who have to come to a decision based on the evidence, so instead of one possible bias opinion they get a bunch of people who most likely will not be as bias
User Yetanotherjosh
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