The standard objection to utilitarian theories of punishment. Also part of the repenting process is the idea of atonement and reparations, or making up somehow for. Deterrence theory as a theory of punishment law times. One can conclude that social learning theory shows that people learn new behavior through overt reinforcement or punishment, or via observational learning of the social factors in their environment. Punishment may also involve various types of informal sanctions by family, peers, and extralegal groups like vigilante committees and paramilitary organizations to promote their own interests. Theories of punishment and mandatory minimum sentences. By inflecting proportionate punishment to the crime, it considers the interest of wrongdoer and society equal. Utilitarian justifications for punishment our first theoretical foray into punishment is the utilitarian perspective. Joel meyer, reflections on some theories of punishment, 59 j. Must such a theory include the notion of an exact matching of punishment to crime. Preventive theory was supported by utilitarian law reformers because of its humanising influence on penal law. As the model predicts, we find that murderers with a high expected probability of recidivism receive longer.
It is maintained that the only legitimate motives for punishing are the desire to deter others by example or to mend the criminal. The state aims at deterring crime by creating fear, the objective is to set an example for the individuals by punishing the criminal. Perspectives on the effects of corporal punishment. Punishmentretribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence. Preventive theory law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Theories of punishment are ultimately theories about choices of. Theories of punishment legal definition of theories of. At times, severe punishments like death by stoning or. The term crime does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,1 though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The responsibility of the wrongdoer came to be measured in terms of the gravity of his offense, which in turn involved the standing and position of the victim. We find them asking whether this or that is an essential part of a retributive theory.
Punishment may take forms ranging from capital punishment, flogging, forced labour, and mutilation of the body to imprisonment and fines. The deterrence theory of punishment suggests that punishment is awarded to stop crime. Learning theory despite the comprehensiveness of gershoffs 2002 article, there was no discussion about the theoretical underpinnings of corporal punishment as a form of. Beccaria s view, swift and certain punishment are the best means of preventing and controlling crime. Perspectives on corporal punishment to put the results of the metaanalyses into perspective, i consider the effects of corporal punishment from three different viewpoints. According to this theory, the aim of punishment is to educate or reform the offender himself. Do theories of punishment necessarily deliver a binary system of. The utilitarian authors will offer answers to such questions as. Deferred punishments consist of penalties that are imposed only if an offense is repeated within a specified time. Thus, utilitarians take special favor in deterrence, as not only does it lower the overall crime rate, but it often does so by imposing minimal punishment as punishment is an evil in itself. Thirtytwo students of grade x were grouped into a corporal punishment group cpg and a psychological treatment group ptg.
Deterrence as an aim of punishment antonio casella. Incapacitation aims to prevent future crimes by taking away the offenders ability to commit offenses. Punishment is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or. Beccaria and the classical theorists believed that humans are rational beings with free will to govern 234 deterrence theory dbosworth. First, the theory commits us to accepting that in punishing one person in order to deter others we are unacceptably using him. The outlawing of corporal punishment seems to have some negative consequences on school discipline.
Is it the case that retributivism requires its holders to. Under this revised retributive theory of just deserts, pun. Hence a study of the theories of modern punishment must be preceded by an. The key factor of deterrence theory of punishment can be said to be fear. The first is that it is extremely difficult to translate outrage into the terms that the legal system makes relevant. It was found that the students who were awarded corporal punishment on creating a source of friction and showing lack of interest in their academic work. Philosophical analysis of the theories of punishment in. During the nineteenth century, a theory of punishment was developed which stated that life is regulated by calculating the pleasures and pains.
If the threat does not work, however, that justification will not carry over into a justification for carrying out the threat, for carrying out the threat will, by hypothesis, do nothing to prevent these harms. Statement of the problem according to section 17 of sasa doe, 1996a. A theory of differential punishment vanderbilt university. Theories of punishment can be divided into two general philosophies. They say that the traditional discipline system had failed. The retributive theory seeks to punish offenders because they deserve to be punished. Punishment introduces and defends a new unified theory of punishment that brings together multiple purposes such as desert, crime reduction and restoration within one coherent theory that is pluralistic, novel and groundbreaking providing new insights into criminal. This principle of punishment was subsequently modi. Lewis, c s the humanitarian theory of punishment 1954. The preventive theory is founded on the idea of preventing repetition of crime by disabling the offender through measures such as imprisonment, forfeiture, death punishment and suspension of licence. Punishment expresses societys condemnation of the crime theory explains the need for general requirement of liability known as culpability mens rea by presupposing free will.
This theory is commonly accepted at the present time, because it is in harmony with the humanitarian sentiments of the. Submitted to submitted by deterrent theory i do not punish you for stealing the ship, but so that the ship may not be stolen the central cynosure of the theory. Firstly, a kid who falls down and kicks the floor inadvertently. Conversely, kants theory may suggest that an act which is not done according to rationality or rational will may be subjected to punishment, as actions which are not rational are not good in itself. The utilitarian theory of punishment seeks to punish offenders to discourage, or deter, future wrongdoing. According to hart,7 a retributive theory of punishment involves, at.
Punishment can be explained by positive prevention theory to use the criminal justice system to teach people. Some western management scholars are currently discussing a theory whether more discipline in working areas generally can increase employee mischief and misbehavior instead of solve the problems. According to this theory the object of punishment is to deter the offender from repeating the same course of conduct so that the persons and property of others may not be harmed. A straitlaced purely retributive theory of punishment is as unsatisfactory as a purely consequentialist theory with its counterintuitive conclusions especially as regards punishing the innocent. Criminal punishment and the pursuit of justice harvard law school. The retributive theory this theory holds that punishment should be administered simply because an offence has been committed, for which the offender deserves to be punished hospers, 1967. Retaliation, then, seems unjustified at least by the principles of selfdefence. In addition, we will give voice to some major objections to the utilitarian theory. So, according to this theory, punishment is not concerned with the nature of. Deterrence theory was revived in the 1970s when various economists and criminologists began to speculate about the topic again, not only as an explanation for why people commit crime but also as a solution to crime pratt et al. Pp051 discipline without punishment is it possible final. Criminals are put in jail not to teach them the consequence of their actions but to bring them under such an environment where they would not be able to engage in crime. Can overlap with deterrent and reformative theories.
Expiatory punishment theory plays a large part of the paroling process, and operates under the idea that if a criminal repents, or expiates, then he or she must be forgiven. Not only to prevent the wrongdoer from doing a wrong, but also to make him an example for others, calculated to curb criminal tendency in others. Pursuant to this theory, offenders are not rehabilitated. Principles of operant conditioning reinforcement and. The practice of punishment, to put the point another way, rests on a plurality of values, not on some one value to the exclusion of all others. Theories of punishment with special focus on reformative. Punishment, the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for a misdeed i. To be deducted from this assertion is the fact that punishment is administered because of, not in order to as held by utilitarian view. Utility theory recommends more punishment than the profit of crime. Critics points out that preventative punishment has the undesirable effect of hardening first offenders, or juvenile offenders, when imprisonment is the punishment, by putting them in the association of harden criminals. Likewise was the idea of mere punishment as such subordinated. Punishment is inflicted on a criminal in order to reform or educate him.
If people observe positive, desired outcomes in the observed behavior, then they are more likely to model, imitate, and adopt the behavior themselves. Incapacitation sentencing law and legal definition. The theory may suggest that once a crime is done in order to protect the many and not a few then capital punishment may not be applied. Different types of punishments are used for different purposes. Reformative theory gives more weight to interest of criminal and deterrent theory priority. For paternalist theories of punishment, the normative question instead becomes. Hegel and the unified theory of punishment request pdf. Kants theory of punishment utilitas cambridge core. The more punishment there is, the less crime there should be. Glaeser and bruce sacerdote april 2000 abstract does the economic model of optimal punishment e x plain the variation in the sentencing of murderers.
421 1633 829 536 105 923 12 1478 163 1268 576 1558 706 917 764 796 800 1555 121 236 1395 153 144 1387 175 1044 352 130 893 272 693 1501 734 1287 318 941 331 267 1154 1243 837 530 665 991 1416 924