A Decision Support System for Sex-Crime Sentencing
Cathy T. H. Chen · 2013
In this research the AJAX technique was used to develop an expert system for sex-crime sentencing. The goals were as follows: (1) to create an expert system which can be easily operated by judges and members of an observer jury; (2) to take a humanized perspective to designing a sentencing operating procedure which is streamlined and efficient; (3) to retain in the system the judge's prerogative to adjust the sentence according to the actual circumstances of the case; and (4) to design the system in such a way that it provides sentencing recommendations as well as information on past cases of a similar type. The system developed in this research consists of three parts: a database of past sentences; a user interface; and an operational rule base. The system makes sentencing recommendations based on the average length of past sentences, while also applying a weighting formula for taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, so as to make sentences more consistent and equitable.