PUNISHMENT

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V.

• PUNISHMENT

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A. Revenge

• 1. def vindictive retaliation usually
  personal,
• accomplished with vengeance in mind
  spite
• 2. little scientific research exists
• a. concept is difficult to identify and
  operationalize
• (measure)
• b. however, often used in court as a
  prosecutorial
• (criminal justice) consideration to
  establish motive,
• crime causation, and guilt
• 3. Messina and Messina (2001) a
  psychological
• treatment

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• a. those who seek it
• 1) cannot, will not forgive and forget
• 2) seek pay back (retribution)
• 3) want to see those who inflict
  suffering suffer
• themselves
• 4) want to get even as way of getting
  on with
• their lives
• b. exhibition of emotion
• gt bitter, intolerant, resentful,
  vindictive, angry,
• cold, antagonistic,
  critical, cruel, ruthless,
• pessimistic

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• c. deficiency of empathy does not
  feel
• gt satisfaction, peace, gratification,
  contentment,
• relief
• d. Jacoby (1983) need for
  revenge is innate
• 1. criminal procedure expends a great
  deal of
• energy trying to remove human emotion from
• the criminal process
• 2. to provide the mantle of
  objectivity and
• rationality
• 3. unemotional justice is
  preferable justice
• e. Punishment is bounded by a
  visceral as well as
• ethereal need for revenge

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B. Questions of Societal Response

• 1. definition a penalty or reprisal for a
  wrongdoing
• 2. in a free society / civilization, how do
  we punish those
• who have committed social wrongs?
• a. Why do we punish?
• b. How do we punish?
• c. Is there anything we can do that we are not
  doing?
• d. Do issues of harm matter?
• gt to the victim to the offender to
  society?
• 3. what is the theory of punishment?
• gt effective punishment will halt crime

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C. Considerations of Punishment

• 1. society punishes those who are
  guilty i.e., those
• responsible for committing crime
• 2. our constitutional form of government
  includes due
• process, which allows for the
  judicious application of
• fairness leading to just punishment
• 3. punishment is based on proportionality
• a. just deserts the punishment
  should fit the crime
• b. a follow-up question would be should the
  
• punishment fit the crime or the
  criminal?
• c. included in conversation the
  quantification of crime

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• d. How much punishment is enough
  punishment?
• gt Menningers (1966) moral surcharge
• D. Justifications for Punishment
• 1. Philosophy / Ethics 101
• a. teleology punishment is the just end of
  a logical
• (political) process
• 1) the ends justifies the means
• 2) morality varies with the
  situation

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• b. deontology moral absolute what
  is wrong is
• always wrong regardless of when that wrong is
• committed
• gt Rule Followers Forever!!!
• 2. tenets (some call these theories, but
  they are wrong)
• of punishment
• a. retribution payback for a
  social wrong
• 1) just deserts social
  recompense
• 2) justification is that we punish
  because we can
• and because we believe it is a
  reasonable
• response
• 3) lex talionis the law of
  retaliation

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• 4) belief that all crimes warrant
  response
• (punishment) regardless of the
  criminal or
• whether or not the punishment
  has any deterrent
• value
• gt punishment is virtuous
• 5) concern what is the purpose
  of punishment?
• a) what is the utility of
  punishment?
• b) who decides?
• c) e.g1. persecution /
  prosecution of Nazi
• concentration
  camp guards, SS officers
• d) e.g.2 Symbionese
  Liberation Army soldiers
• e) punishment is valid
  whenever it can be

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• b. deterrence
• 1) the prevention or
  discouragement of future
• actions
• 2) types
• a) general the prevention
  of crime through
• broad-based education
• 1 a concern for the common welfare
• 2 a realization that
  it is ok to punish the
• factually innocent
  if the punishment
• prevents others
  from engaging in similar
• behaviors

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• b) specific the belief that
  crime will be prevented through the
  incapacitation of a
• particular
  individual
• 1 individual
  punishments to individuals
• 2 not punishing the guilty is
  only acceptable if
• it does not provide an acceptable
  social
• lesson
• 3 They did the crime, they WILL do the
• time!
• 2) basic deterrence question Does
  punishment
• prevent others from committing crime?
• gt (do you care whether or not
  punishment
• deters?)

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• c. incapacitation
• 1) depriving / removing /
  preventing the ability to act
• 2) typically imposed in the form
  of incarceration
• 3) process identify those who are
  criminal or who
• have criminal inclinations and detain
• them so that they cannot commit
• subsequent crime
• 4) types
• a) collective detain all those
  engaged in or who
• may be contemplating similar
• offenses
• b) selective detain specific
  offenders for specific
• offenses

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• d. social defense
• 1) consideration of the
  preservation of public safety
• 2) a special form of deterrence,
  concern becomes
• prevention of harm to all by the
  punishment of the
• individual
• gt e.g., Charles Manson
• e. ANY punishment that prevents future
  crime is
• justifiable
• f. reform / rehabilitation
• 1) consideration of crime as a
  social disease that
• needs to be cured through
  treatment
• gt individualized punishment

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• 2) promotes paternalism humanistic
  vision of justice
• toward the offender
• gt treatment as social defense
• 3) conflicting evidence as to the
  effectiveness of
• rehabilitative programs
• gt Lipton, Martinson, and Wilks
  (1974)
• 4) fundamental concern Why should
  limited
• resources / funds, be spent on those who have
• offended us when the innocent and others in
• need do not receive this same consideration?
• gt rehabilitation supporters ALL those
  in need
• should receive the same benefit

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• g. restitution
• 1) monetary or service payment compensation
• 2) mostly financial remuneration for a
  wrong
• committed
• 3) amount is based on consideration
  of what would
• serve as the greatest benefit for
  the victim and / or
• his / her family
• 4) rationale monetary or physical
  punishment may be
• more satisfactory than
  incarceration

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D. Modern History

• 1. turn-of-the-century 1900 through
  1960s, emphasis of
• corrections was on rehabilitation
  and incapacitation
• a. the Medical Model
• 1) product of Freuds US Tour (1895)
• 2) criminals were ill with a
  social disease
• 3) needed care and treatment
• 4) advent of the indeterminate
  sentence
• b. concern with recidivism
• 1) how to prevent offenders
  from re-offending
• 2) treatment v harsher
  punishment

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• 2. late 1960s ushered in the decline of
  the
• Rehabilitation Era
• a. disillusionment with
  rehabilitation and break down
• of social controls
• b. could the State actually
  predict criminals and
• protect society from those who
  would cause
• harm?
• c. personal responsibility
• d. rise of Post-Modernism
• 3. 1970s-1990s
• a. the Retributive Era

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• b. Greenwoods (1982) Rand
  Corporation funded
• Selective Incapacitation
• 1) research question What
  effect would long-
• term incarceration have the crime
  problem?
• 2) assessing available data
  and computer
• simulation, examined
  instances of robbery
• 3) conclusion, long-term
  (10 years)
• incarceration would likely reduce
  instances of
• robbery by as much as 20
• 4) suggests that specific
  crime categories could
• lead to just as
  significant crime reduction
• 5) need to increase be-space
  by 400

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• Police ease restraints concerning
  investigations less than probable cause
  warrants and arrests better
• equipment / advanced technology
  public attitude to
• do something fear of crime
• Courts streamline of the appellate process
  tough laws / tougher sentences (Megans
  Law, 3 Strikes Laws)
• less than unanimous jury decisions
  judges who
• had been appointed by conservative
  get tough
• presidents / governors
• Corrections 1979 770,000 total
  incarcerated
• 2001 2,100,000 total incarcerated
• elimination of rehabilitation programs
  reduction of
• mental health treatment facilities
  and staff
• outsourcing of correctional services

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• 4. The New Millennium (2000 )
• a. growth of community justice
  Restorative Justice
• Era
• b. questions arising, whats
  going on in prison?
• c. attempt to remedy harm
• gt address community healing
  
• d. Issue Can personal and social
  damage resulting
• from crime truly be
  repaired?
• gt How? When?

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E. Conclusion / Summary

• 1. justification for punishment
• 2. type of punishment
• 3. end result