Introduction
Across the world, political cultures have evolved, this has brought people’s emotions, feelings believe and opinions to form governments. The political cultures have grown in the extent that it affects different countries and states across the world (Spring 111). In the United States, the political cultures have influenced the process of sentencing in courts where first, the government puts some considerations of the well-being of the prisoner. This has however extended and affected how district courts in Colombia work on sentencing people (Morgan). The changes have been facilitated by different lawyers such as Judge Milton Lee.
Main body
Judge Milton Lee worked in the superior court as a magistrate in the district of Colombia for many years, and he came up with different programs that would facilitate the approach in sentencing crime victims (Gargarella and Roux 265). His main idea was to be able to work with the prisoners so that he would transform them into better people in society. An example is a program he started for fathers to go out of jail and start working since they had families to support and particularly child support to pay (Gargarella and Roux 270).
This idea has improved the overall thinking of the district courts when sentencing people. The district courts of Colombia have had exemptions for married men where they are given jail time but also can meet with their families (Howard 325). The main aim is to try and include the fathers in their family’s lives as much as possible.
The district courts have also shifted to rehabilitating some of the people waiting to be sentenced or after sentencing. These individuals go through months and years of the therapy session and are required to meet with their psychologists, doctors, and lawyers to determine their progress (Dixon 88). Due to the shift in political culture, these people are part of the society hence they are watched until they change to sober lives and then their sentence might be revised and given a shorter term to serve (Gargarella and Roux 249). Judge Milton Lee worked in this area too and ensured that different rehabilitation programs were successful for the people who suffered drug abuse.
Judge Milton Lee also wrote different amendment analyses and worked closely with the juvenile courts and detention statutes (Gargarella and Roux 147). Some members of the juvenile court and him united to publish a manual that would help new practitioners facilitate the people that came to juvenile courts and how adequately they could be supported. He promoted deep understanding and discovery of twists within cases which would help the district court make sound judgments and make sentencing better and fair to the community. All this was affected by the shifting of political culture, and Colombian district courts worked for hand in hand with Judge Milton Lee to see a smooth transition in sentencing within district courts (Morgan).
Conclusion
The district courts in Colombia have undertaken various efforts to make sure that their considerations to sentencing conform to the political cultures in the United States and the ones that are influenced by them (Morgan). Colombian district courts, however, are adapting to these changes and they are working on a daily basis to making sure that they are not left behind to transformation like the United States. It is clear that society is shifting and due to political changes, everyone including suspected crime victims is given a chance to show better of themselves (Dixon 90). Colombia in particular is adapting to shifting of sentencing which has been facilitated by political culture.
Works cited
Dixon, Peter J. “Reparations, assistance and the experience of justice: Lessons from Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” International Journal of Transitional Justice vol. 10, no.1, 2015, pp. 88-107.
Gargarella, Roberto, and Theunis Roux. Courts and Social Transformation in New Democracies: an institutional voice for the poor? Routledge, 2017.
Howard, J. Woodford. Courts of Appeals in the Federal Judicial System: A Study of the Second, Fifth, and District of Columbia Circuits. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Morgan, N. ” If even Inocencio was guilty…”: Cynicism and Political Culture in Colombia.” The Colombia Reader (2015).
Spring, Joel. Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States. Routledge, 2016.