Quiz #1 Flashcards
What are the Pre-Classical perspectives of punishment?
• Religious and supernatural causes of criminal activity
• Primitive cultures believed violating rules was actions from the devil or evil spirits
• Full moon was a trigger for criminal activity
• Connection between the full moon and crime primarily comes from a Classical School theoretical model
Classical School of Criminology
Influences on Beccaria and his writings
Influences on Beccaria and his writings
• The Enlightenment philosophy is evident in Beccaria’s writing
• Determined what was rational in legal policy
• Emphasized the social contract
• Appealed to the ideal of Utilitarianism
What did Beccaria propose for reform and his ideas of justice?
• Beccaria’s claim: The true measure of crime is namely the harm done to society
• Particular punishment should be administered as established by law
• Mens rea - Guilty in mind
• Actus reus- Guilty act
• Education and prevention of crime
Classical School of Criminology death penalty components
• Beccaria’s ideas of the death penalty
• Death penalty was not an efficient and effective punishment
- Capital punishment violated the social contract
- Not useful because of example of barbarity
• Brutalization effect- The predicted tendency of homicides to increase after an execution, especially after high profile executions
Beccaria’s Concept of Deterrence and the Three Key Elements of Punishment
Three characteristics of punishment make a significant difference in whether an individual will commit a criminal act.
- Celerity (Swiftness)
- Certainty
- Severity
Certainty
Of the three key elements of punishment
Perceive a high likelihood of being caught and punished
Certainty of punishment will make a stronger impression than the fear
Beccaria’s Conceptualization of Specific and General Deterrence
Two identifiable forms of deterrence.
•Specific deterrence: Meant to prevent or deter that particular individual from committing crime.
•General deterrence: Meant to prevent or deter other potential offenders from engaging in criminal
Beccaria’s ideas on punishment
For punishment not to be an act of violence it must be public, prompt, necessary, proportionate to the crimes, dictated by laws
Impact of Beccaria’s work on other theorists
Jeremy Bentham
•Inspired by the ideas of Beccaria.
•Hedonistic calculus: Weighing of pleasure versus pain.
•Known for his design of a prison structure: Panopticon.
The loss of dominance of classical / neoclassical theory
Lost dominance after the introduction of the concept of evolution and natural selection
Sheds light on other influences of human behavior
Despite this shift in emphasis, justice systems in the Western societies retained use of the classical / neoclassical model
Thomas Hobbes rational theory
Thomas Hobbes proposed a number of ideas that came to define the Age of Enlightenment
Suggested a drastic paradigm shift
Declared that human beings are rational beings who choose their destiny by creating a society
Arrangement of citizens agreeing to abide by the rules or laws set forth in return for protection = Social contract
Origins of the Classical School
1764 publication of On Crimes and Punishments by Italian scholar Cesare Bonesana Beccaria
Due to Beccaria’s significant work he is considered as
The father or criminal Justice
The father of the classical school of criminology
And the father of deterrence theory
The most relevant concept the Enlightenment philosophers highlighted was
the idea that human beings are rational and have free
The Age of Enlightenment acknowledged the natural capability
for human beings to make decisions on costs and benefits
Classical School emphasizes
Free will and rational decision making
Beccaria was the first known scholar to write a work that summarizes
Role of choice rather than fate and destiny
For criminologists classical / deterrence theory has not been the main explanatory model
For criminal justice policies classical / deference theory is dominant
