During the nineteenth century, a theory of punishment was developed which stated that life is regulated by calculating the pleasures and pains involved in contemplated actions, and that the aim of punishment was to increase the pain over the pleasure of the act to deter the contemplated act. Process of punishment is essential for the smooth running of society. At times, severe punishments like death by stoning or. Theories of punishment with special focus on reformative theory. According to the retributive theory the purpose of punishment is to seek revenge. In addition, we will give voice to some major objections to the utilitarian theory.
The following are some of the theories of punishment. Must such a theory include the notion of an exact matching of punishment to crime. Modern theory of punishment modern theory of punishment is a combination of all the theories discussed above. Retributive theory works under the penal laws and expiation theory is akin to the law of torts. Philosophical analysis of the theories of punishment in. Feeley and simon say that the new penology seeks to sort and classify, to separate the less from the more dangerous, and to deploy control strategies rationally pg 452 what kind of theory of punishment is the new penology. Generally, it is believed to be a firm of taking revenge and would not serve only penal purpose. In their view, it is the certainty of law and its severity which has a real effect on offenders.
Theories of punishment legal definition of theories of. The development of the institution of prison is essentially an outcome of the preventive theory of crime. Punishment is identified by infliction of pain, forfeiture, chastisement, castigation or penalty. Is it the case that retributivism requires its holders to. This theory is more related to ancient religious perceptions regarding crime and punishment when prisoners were placed in isolated cells to repent or expiate for their crime or guilt from the core of their heart and resolve to shun crime. A theory of the stability of punishment alfred blumstein and jacqueline cohen one of the more interesting theses advanced by durkheim, and subsequently by others, is that crime is a normal and not a pathological attribute of society provided that it attains and does. Expiatory theory of punishment was prevalent in ancient indian criminal law. What is the difference between retributive theory and. The unified theory provides us with the coherent framework that can justify their inclusion and illuminate their implementation in practice. Deterrent theory retributive theory reformative theory expiatory theory. Punishment is justified because, it is claimed, it helps to control crime.
Piagets theory regarding the two moralities of the child involves the development, after seven or eight years of age, from an egocentric, dogmatic upholding of seemingly arbi. If the offender expiates or repents, he must be forgive. Expiatory theory states that compensation is awarded to the victim from the wrong doer. Deterrence, incapacitation and ven geance edward l. The history of punishment by lewis lyons, published by. Punishment can serve as a means for society to publicly express denunciation of an action as being criminal. Utilitarian justifications for punishment our first theoretical foray into punishment is the utilitarian perspective. Joes expiatory punishment was in accord for his wrongdoing. In other words, the monetary loss of the sufferer is compensated and the criminal has to compensate for the loss.
Which of the following is a theory of punishment that argues that the reason for punishment is to stop the specific person and others from doing the same criminal act. In older times, injured person takes revenge by causing injury to other. The purpose of this book is to explore punishments from a comparative. The expiatory theory was based on moral principles, had little to do with law or legal concept.
According to this theory the aim of punishment is to prevent or deter others from committing similar offences. Area d concerns the efficacy cf expiatory punishment. The utilitarian authors will offer answers to such questions as. The guilty deserve to be punished, and no moral consideration relevant to punishment outweighs the offenders criminal desert is the philosophy of retributive theory. Preventive theory law and legal definition uslegal, inc.
Glaeser and bruce sacerdote april 2000 abstract does the economic model of optimal punishment e x plain the variation in the sentencing of murderers. Deterrence and retributive are examples of classical and nonclassical philosophies. Punishment means, it is the redress that the commonwealth takes against an offending member1punishment is some sort of social. The reformative aspect thinks of incorporating humane values into the prison system and the prison officials have to work for the achievement of the same. The researcher in this chapter would like to discuss the various theories and explain the pros and cons of each theory. The reformative theory was born out of the positive theory that the focal point of crime is positive thinking. The unified theory of punishment helps public policy decisionmaking and should be taken into account when we decide. Earlier modes of punishment were, deterrent in nature. Theories of punishment for safe, orderly, peaceful and prosperous society to exist and flourish the following tools of theory are found to be good guides.
Rai, neetij, theories of punishment with special focus on reformative theory may 5, 2010. Punishment means, it is the redress that the commonwealth takes against an offending member1punishment is. The first critical guide to examine all leading contemporary theories of punishment, this book explores among others the communicative theory of punishment, restorative justice, and the unified theory of punishment. We find them asking whether this or that is an essential part of a retributive theory. The retributive view of punishment is pastlooking which is paying back by the offender. The kinds of punishment given are surely influenced. Thom brooks examines several case studies in detail, including capital punishment, juvenile offending, and domestic abuse. Punishment before all things is deterrent, and the chief end of the law of crime is to make the evildoer an example and a warning to all that are likeminded with him.
The early history of punishment begins with gildamesh, the samarian king of uruk, who reigned around 2700 bc. After committing the crime, raskolnikov is overtaken by. Of the various theories of punishment the following there are the most important and typical retributive, preventive and reformative. The utilitarian theory of punishment seeks to punish offenders to discourage, or deter, future wrongdoing. The retributive theory seeks to punish offenders because they deserve to be punished. The concept of penal reform had its birth from the reformative theory of punishment. Holden university of texas at austin parental use of corporal punishment has been a contentious childrearing topic for thousands of years.
According to this theory repentance or expiation by offender itself is a punishment. Theories of punishment kinds of punishment under criminal law. However, the expiation theory could not be a solution in cases of murder, plunders, rapes. Punishment can be explained by positive prevention theory to use the criminal justice system to teach people what are the social norms for what is correct, and acts as a reinforcement.
According to this theory punishment is necessary for the purification of the offender. This theory is peculiar in nature which is properly explained in hindu jurisprudence. Dadhikot9, bhaktapur bhaktapur, bhaktapur 6618 nepal. Offences against public tranquility section 141160. The history of punishment by lewis lyons, published by amber books, 2003. Prison of the time should have a meaning that incorporates the reformative values into it. The idea behind expiation theory is that the current justice system. 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. Theories of punishment a sociolegal view legal service india. 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.
Punishment theory and coherence michelle madden dempsey hom brooks is to be commended for having taken on an almost impossible task in writing his impressive new book, punishment. 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. Raskolnikov, a student, decides to kill a worthless person to help his impoverished family, and to prove that he is exempt from moral law. A detailed discussion is done on theories of punishment. To be classified as a crime, the act of doing something bad actus reus must be usually accompanied by the intention to do something bad mens rea, with certain exceptions strict liability. Weekly course the indian penal code by tina malhotra.
His parents were very hard working and deeply religious people, but so poor. Theories of punishment can be divided into two general philosophies. According to modern expiation theory, compensation is awarded to the victim from the wrongdoer. According to this theory, punishment is a warning to others. 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. During the heyday of liberalism in the 1960s and 1970s, the judicial and executive branches for example, parole boards wielded power in sentencing. The penologists criticise the expiation theory opining that this theory is sufficient to meet the less serious type of offences, such as abuse, assault, defamation, trespass, torts, etc. Thus, according to this theory, the objective of punishment needs to be reformation by the offender. The unified theory of punishment is found in thom brooks, punishment routledge, 2012. If punishment is inflicted, there will be less crime committed thereafter than there would be. Theories of punishment with special focus on reformative. Deterrent theory i do not punish you for stealing the ship, but so that. Page2 theories of punishment or, kinds of punishment under criminal laws the ancient punishments were brought to england. Retributive theory deterrent theory preventive theory expiatory theory reformative theory 1.
Retributive theory is based on rights, desert and justice. As the model predicts, we find that murderers with a high expected probability of recidivism receive longer. Preventive theory was supported by utilitarian law reformers because of its humanising influence on penal law. Expiatory theory under this theory, it is believed that if the. Perspectives on the effects of corporal punishment. Crime and punishment 2 of 967 translators preface a few words about dostoevsky himself may help the english reader to understand his work. Short essay on the preventive theory of punishment.
This article describes the difference between retributive theory and expiation theory. Critical analysis of theories of punishment mere denunciation of crime is not enough. The early mesopotamian cultures were perhaps the first organized civilizations with permanent residences. Assumes that, given challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve selfesteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity. A punishment to the wrongdoer who is made to suffer in proportion to the severity of wrongdoing. Firstly, a kid who falls down and kicks the floor inadvertently. A different theory is that offenders take an unfair advantage over nonoffenders and punishment restores the just balance of benefits and burdens. General deterrence theory postulates that increasing the risk of apprehension and punishment in. Theories of punishment and mandatory minimum sentences.
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