Retribution

Question 1

What is retribution?

Answer 1

• Punishing an offender for a wrongful act.
• Punishment should be proportional to crime (‘eye for an eye’)
• Allows society to express their moral outrage and condemn offender.

Question 2

What theories link to retribution?

Answer 2

• Rational choice theory (offender is a rational actor who consciously chose to commit a crime).
• Durkheim’s functionalism (moral outrage expressed by society keeps rest of society within the law as criminal is used as an example)

Question 3

What are criticisms of retribution?

Answer 3

• Argued offenders should be given a second chance to show remorse or make amends.
• Society argue on length and seriousness of offences (‘eye for an eye’ etc).