New Zealand
In New Zealand, offenders can be "convicted and discharged" (gets a criminal record, but no other punishment) or "discharged without conviction" (no punishment and no criminal record). Note that defendants can be discharged without conviction even if they plead guilty to the alleged crime. This is usually done in cases where the negative impact of a conviction far outweigh the crime committed. For example, if a high-end businessman is caught in possession of a small quantity of marijuana, due to the small nature of the crime compared to the effects a conviction (even without a sentence) would have, he may be discharged without conviction.
Read more about this topic: Discharge (sentencing)
Famous quotes containing the word zealand:
“Teasing is universal. Anthropologists have found the same fundamental patterns of teasing among New Zealand aborigine children and inner-city kids on the playgrounds of Philadelphia.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)