Theories of Punishment Distribution Retribution

Why, When, and How should Government Punish? Why – It is better to have crimes punished by State Power, than to have retribution in the hands of private citizens. When – If a person commits a deed that is harmful enough to other people or to social order – or perhaps to themselves – they may be punished by The State. How…..?

The Big theories Deterrence – The reason a State may punish criminals is to deter people from committing crimes. The appropriate punishment therefore is whatever deters the crime: no more, no less

Strict Retribution Retribution – A criminal should be punished simply because they committed a crime and not for any other reason. Their punishment should fit crime … “an eye for an eye.”

Rehabilitation Rehabilitation – A criminal is a “sick person.” They need to be reformed. We don’t punish, so much as “reform” them.

Do we have Free Will? We can distinguish between right and wrong It feels like have a real choice in how to behave We choose to do things that are bad for us, even though we know better Our beliefs strongly reflect our environment Biology limits our choices Unconscious thoughts and motivations The Libitz Experiments

The Death Penalty

Fast Facts Most Executions in the world occur in 5 countries: 1) China, 2) Saudi Arabia, 3) Iraq, 4) Iran, 5) The United States Nearly all of Europe, most of Latin America, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have abolished the death penalty 31 States in the United States have the death penalty, 19 do not. The vast majority of executions in the United States occur in the South.

Arguments for the Death Penalty: 1) Deterrence P1: The most effective deterrent against murder is the death penalty C: We should have a death penalty for first degree murder Objections? a) Deterrent alone is not sufficient to justify punishment b) It is not true that capital punishment is needed for the full deterrent effect.

Retribution P1: If you commit a crime you must be punished in proportion to that crime. P2: The only proportional punishment for murder is to take the murder’s life C: We must execute murders Objections? a) Free will? b) Is “P2” right?

Arguments against the Death Penalty. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We cannot kill people to show that killing people is wrong!

Innocent people wrongly executed Sometimes innocent people are executed.

It is Cruel and Unusual Punishment Even lethal injections can go wrong, causing a painful and horrible death for the convict.

The Death Penalty is carried out in a biased way Even if we accept the death penalty in theory, we cannot do so in practice. The race of the accused, the race of the victim, the poverty or wealth of the accused, all play a huge role in whether or not the death sentence is chosen and carried out.