Sociology

Question 1 Criminal Justice System during the Anglo-Saxon and Norman Periods
The criminal justice system in the Anglo-Saxon period around 450 A.D. was brought to England by the reign of Germanic invaders who ousted the Roman Empire (Bruce, 2001). The Anglo-Saxon period was characterized by customary laws and existed in Kingdoms. The law was more folk custom in nature and every Kingdom had a legal system and process of its own. The system was organized into local courts called the shire court or the county court. This meeting was overseen by an officer called the shire reeve or the sheriff appointed by the King. He was not a judge but merely a presiding officer. Below the shire court was the hundred courts since shires were divided into hundreds. These were much smaller settings made up of groups of families other than large population.

The hundred courts was a localized version of the shire court. It was presided over by a hundred bailiffs who were appointed by the sheriff but later on it was left into the hands of influential people in the setting. In the courts, the charter-a written document from a king or other authority confirming the grant of a valuable right and writ-was the executive order that marked the beginning of any legal process. The victim or offender was subjected to an oath to prove their innocence or claims and if the oath was wrongly administered they were subjected to the next method of proof (Todd, Cole  Reisig, 2006).

This system can be compared more to the modern administrative organization rather than the modern criminal justice system. With the Norman Conquest there came change in the form of legal procedure but it was not effected immediately (Cengage, 2006). They stayed well into the middle of the 17th century .The Normans just changed and adapted a few to suit their needs. Juries were introduced and became a common feature and proof was by evidence. The Norman system retained the above but added a few features (Bruce, 2001). The Normans system laid foundations for the establishment of a crime and punishment system which is similar to our modern day criminal justice system.

Question 2 Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts Colonies A Comparison
Criminal justice procedures in different colonies in North America developed from the mother countries own legal systems. They also developed in relation to the intentions of the settlers and their relationship with the native inhabitants of the colony. They were an extension of their rule and laws to their areas of influence (Livingstone  Withers, 2005). But dependent on the conditions and type of people they were to be administered to, they were bound to be modified.

Evidence and practical approach is derived from the development of the criminal justice procedures in the American colonies. The development of the criminal justice procedures in Virginia were wholesomely based on the situations prevailing in the colony (Cengage, 2006). The settlers who were sent by the Virginia Company in 1602 later on established the Virginia colony. In this colony there were Indians who outnumbered the British settlers. Only thirty eight out of the initial one hundred and eight settlers survived because of the starvation and diseases and Indian attacks (Franklin, 2000). On realizing their population was small when compared to the Indians whom they mistreated, they saw vulnerability in their existence and isolation. Thus the Virginia Company developed strict, military like codes and harsh laws that would protect them and allow their numbers to grow. This is with the knowledge adopted from the England common law that came up with a legal code titled Laws Divine, Moral and Martial (Bruce, 1990).
 
In Pennsylvania, settlers who were fleeing religious persecution or mistreatment from England took over the colony (Bruce, 2001). The laws developed in Pennsylvania were based on the principles of what was Right in the Eyes of God. They were to be used to maintain order and allegiance to God in relation to the Christian teachings. In Massachusetts, the development was inspired by the same cause like in Pennsylvania where the puritans who opposed the Church of England landed in Mayflower and established the Plymouth settlement (Withers, 2005). Guided by the Mayflower pact they vowed provide just and equal laws and did not seek economic gains. Rather, they had come to seek religious freedom (Todd et al, 2006). Though many of the pilgrims died from the harsh winter the Plymouth colony survived and by 1642 it had grown into the Massachusetts Bay colony.
Question 3 The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights

America being a country of many states could not be effectively governed by the Articles of Confederation. They were weak and they could barely hold the states together (Franklin, 2000). There emerged a Federalists group led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They expressed their dissatisfaction in the governing document of that time and presented their ideas to the American leaders of that time. This played a role in the overhaul of the system in America since they spelt out their vision for Americans clearly under the promise of the Bill of Rights (Withers, 2005).

The most controversial amendment was the fourteenth amendment which is said to have never passed (Withers, 2005). Its proposal and process of ratification was marred by irregularities and unconstitutional actions.  This was the bill on the citizenship of slaves and their rights after the abolition of slavery. The impetus was the fact that, even after the abolition of slavery, African Americans were not eligible to become American citizens and did not have freedoms and rights (Cengage, 2006).

Question 4 American Criminal Justice System and the Sectional Crisis
The American Criminal Justice system was put to considerable test around 1850s. This was a period when the southern states had not embraced the Northern Abolitionist ideas (Franklin, 2000). The compromise of 1850 was as a result of the fugitive slave law, a controversial federal law intended to engage the Northern states people in tracking down slavery escapees from the south. This sparked emotions and led into a civil war (Todd et al, 2006).

The Dred Scott case led to the growth of the sectional crisis because there were leaders from the North who were not ready to embrace the fugitive law and the southern leaders were against abolitionist ideas (Bruce, 2001).

Question 5 American Civil War and the Correctional System
There was a corrections system of jails but they were very crowded and coupled with the poor administration, they failed (Todd et al, 2006). None of the states like New York has achieved the rehabilitation program. Within forty years they had become overcrowded, under financed and less staffed (Todd et al, 2006).The war was deemed as the second American Revolution that removed the southern agrarians from power and made possible the industrial transformation.

The reconstruction plan and the Republican Party reunited the country economically and politically. Northern veterans believed they saved the union and gave birth to new freedom and the south veterans believed that they had fought nobly for independence and might have emerged winners if they did not lack resources (Bruce, 2001).