Individuals and our society as a whole have a right to be protected from those who wish to disobey the law.

Our safety and property rights are of importance to the law makers and this fact is reflected in the punishment of those convicted of infringing upon those rights. We punish offenders for many reasons. There are, however, traditionally accepted objectives of punishment which have developed over time. They are the reform or rehabilitation of the offender, deterrence and retribution. Sentencing is when the punishment decided for the offender is declared and punishment is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offence. Although sentencing and punishment is known to be the best way of determining what penalty an individual will face but it also comes with issues that can affect the decision, if it is right or wrong. Mandatory sentencing is a problem that this issue has faced and the reform taken to address it was circle sentencing, the legislation introduced was Human Rights (Mandatory Sentencing of Juveniles) Bill 1999 after the case of Johnno Warambarra and other aboriginal young offenders. Capital punishment was another problem that this issue had. The death penalty of Ronald Ryan had caused alot of commotion after his death when he was found innocent and therefore the death penalty abolition act 1973 was brought in. Economy costs were also another problem that the government faced, because for every minor crime most people faced jail so to reduce the cost and also give a punishment, alternative punishment methods were introduced.

In 1996 the New South Wales Reform Commission indentified the objectives and aims of punishment as being retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation and denunciation. As the 19th century progressed, utilitarian views and humanitarian principles gained increasing acceptance and assisted in liberalising the criminal law. By 1861 the death penalty remained only in cases of treason, murder and piracy with violence. In the mid-19th century the criminal law was still the subject of much criticism for the absence of its systematic rules of sentencing. There was no consistency as between the imposition of alternatives to maximum penalties. As societies began to change ethically and morally and started valuing things differently, laws began to change and as new technology and more advances came through, Australia had a new sentencing and punishment system with a range of different legislation to meet the needs of the citizens Mandatory sentencing establishes an exact penalty for each category of offence individually. Normal sentencing sets a range of penalties, allowing judges and magistrates to interpret the sentenced according to the circumstances of the offence and the offender. Mandatory sentencing removes this discretion. In 2000 the UNs committee against torture called the mandatory sentencing laws in Australia racist. Journalist John Pilger, mandatory sentencing laws have been a primary cause of one of the highest suicide rates in the world, among young Aborigines. In 2008 the UN committee recommended the abolition of mandatory sentencing due to its disproportionate and discriminatory impact on the indigenous population. The case and media file of John Warrambarrba was a devastating case which proved how negative mandatory sentence was. According to the authorities, 15-year-old orphaned Aboriginal boy "Johnno" Warramarrba was found in his cell on February 9, 2001, hanged by a bed sheet. He had been taken from his remote community in the Northern Territory and imprisoned 800 kilometres away in Darwin for stealing property worth less than $90. By the official account, he killed himself just five days before he was due to be released from the Don Dale Correctional Centre. An officer had sent him to his room for refusing to wash up,

and he was found unconscious five minutes later. Attempts to revive him failed and he died nine hours later at Darwin Hospital. There are many more cases where under 20 year-olds have been jailed for pretty crimes and damages for less than 5 Australian dollars. In the case of Johnno Warrambarrba a public outcry followed, putting mandatory sentencing practices into the national spotlight and pressure on the government to respond. Mandatory sentencing is ineffective because it results in fewer guilty pleas because no discounts can be given for co-operation. Because it increases prison populations costs rise. In 2001, when labour government was elected in the Northern Territory, the mandatory sentencing regime ended October that year. The Human Rights (Mandatory Sentencing of Juveniles) Bill 1999 changed this problem and created legislation under the Crime act 1999 to ensure that harsh punishment will change for young offenders. This bill outlines that children and young offenders will not be sent to jail for minor crimes but will face mandatory detention.

Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty. It is when a criminals life is eliminated. For most of the last millennium, it was the primary judicial sanction in England. Punishment was not graded beyond a simple division into minor and major crimes. It was part of the legal system of Australia since British settlement and during the 19th century, crimes that could carry a death sentence included burglary, sheep stealing, forgery, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter. These crimes saw about 80 people hanged each year throughout Australia. It is too late to reverse the decision or compensate the prisoner for a miscarriage of justice after the death sentence has been carried out. In Australia there have been cases were those wrongly convicted of murder have eventually been released and pardoned. Edward Splatt was convicted with murder and sexual assault of a 77 year-old women. The case was very and it came to a point where Edward was given the death penalty. A few days before the death penalty the forensic investigators found out that the DNA sample found on the lady was not Edwards, it was polluted and therefore Edward was lucky to be pardoned. Another case where the death penalty went wrong was the case of Ronald Ryan. Ronald was the last Australian to receive capital punishment and years later after he was hanged, a witness came forward and told the court that Ronald was innocent but by then it was too late. Ronald was convicted of killing his former workmate with a bullet. This was later proved wrong after his death. The media was very persuasive and societies began to protest. Then the Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973 was introduced to the Commonwealth. It abolished the capital punishment for all crimes and in the territories. The maximum life imprisonment for Australia is 25years. Australia has also ratified other international treaties abolishing the death penalty, including the convention on the rights of the child and the convention against torture. Reintroducing the capital punishment would violate Australias international obligations. Australia has ratified the second optional protocol to the international covenant on civil and political rights.

For certain serious offences the concept of truth in sentencing is seen more as more just by many in the community. Warranty of punishment is now based on how severe the crime is because of the amount of money spent in keeping people in prisons. To help in solving the issue there are alternative punishments available because of the vast increase of crime happening in our society. Instead of jailing a person for minor, petty crimes there are alternative punishments that are much

more affordable for the government and at the same time punish the criminal. These alternative punishments include home detentions, community services, periodic detention, probation order and bonds. Home detention involves keeping offenders in their own home while they are electronically monitored. Community service involves the offender working for a specified number of hours for the community. The periodic detention act 1981 allows for the accused to be detained over weekends in prison while maintaining employment during the week. Probation order is a form of a bond where the accused is not imprisoned but rather must report on a regular basis to a probation officer. A bond involves keeping the accused out of a prison by having that person promising to behave or face a fine or imprisonment. Due to the increase of crime within the young aboriginal offenders circle sentencing was introduced to avoid the costs of keeping jail and to help Aboriginal people in custody are often dying from treatable diseases like diabetes and heart disease. The term 'circle sentencing' stems from a circle of representatives sitting together and trying to decide a sentence which does not include a jail term. Representatives are mainly Aboriginal Elders, but also members of the prosecution or police and a magistrate. The circle will also talk about the background and effects of the offence and can involve meeting the victim. The sentence should, where possible, involve community work. Traditionally accepted objectives of punishment have developed over time. Mandatory sentencing is still in existence to this very day however the Human Rights (Mandatory Sentencing of Juveniles) has laid down rules which consequently forced law reforms. Capital punishment caused a commotion and controversy in Australia and to change that the government introduced the Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973. Before it was acceptable and now societys believes have changed towards the capital punishment within the community this forced the legislation to reform. Alternative punishment and circle sentencing was introduced to decrease the spending of the government as well as giving aboriginal people a chance for the treatment of chronic diseases. Overall the sentencing and punishment has changed over a period of time. As Australia is becoming more modern, the morals, ethics and values of societies are changing and new legislation and reforms are being introduced to make this country a more safe and secure place the fair way.