MIDTERM EXAM

Midterm Exam

Midterm Exam

Explain the retributive rationale and utilitarian rationale for punishment. What rationale do you prefer and explain why?

Retribution has been defined as morally right and fully deserved punishment. The idea of retribution is aimed at the perpetrator, not at the victim, reflecting the Old Testament concept of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Advocates of deterrence follow the reasoning that punishment is only useful if it serves to deter convicted offenders from further crime and deterring members of society from committing crimes in the first place. The principle of deterrence as a reason for punishment is a subject that has been examined, argued, and debated for decades. Despite all of this examination, the true nature and effectiveness of deterrence are still undecided and polarizing among researchers and the legal community alike (McCloskey, 1967). In a 2008 study, Carlsmith suggests that there is a chasm between the actual and stated motives for punishment. While the general public supports laws based on deterrence, it then rejects the consequences of deterrence when applied. Some conditions placed on released convicts are intended to deter the convict's return to incarceration. This understanding of retribution, however, did not translate into a lower rate of recidivism.

On the other hand, the utilitarian theories of punishment dominated American jurisprudence during most of the twentieth century (McCloskey, 1967). Since punishment involves pain, it can be justified only if it accomplishes enough good consequences to outweigh this harm. In modern usage, utilitarianism is often employed to refer broadly to theories that likely consequences determine the morality of action, and this usage is followed here. The catalogs of beneficial consequences that utilitarians have thought can be realized by punishment have varied, but the following have generally been regarded as most important (McCloskey, 1967).

General deterrence

Norm reinforcement

Individual ...