Retributive Justifications Flashcards
Retributive Justifications
Retributivism is often described as “an eye for an eye,” and as such, punishment is justified and the society has a duty to punish.
When an offender breaks the law, justice requires that they suffer in return in a way that is proportional to the offense
Positive Retributivism:
A person should not be punished unless he deserves it, but if he does deserve it, he should be punished as much as he deserves, even if doing so would produce no utilitarian good, such as deterring crime.
Negative Retributivism:
The view that only the guilty are to be punished, and they can only be punished if discernable good comes from it, even if the offender is nonetheless guilty as charged. Intended to produce a world with less crime.
Immanuel Kant- The Philosophy of Law
Mentions the categorical imperative; that there are
certain imperatives that everyone should live their lives by, and no one is given a pass on the imperative.
1. Criminal law is an imperative, as everyone is required to conform their behavior to it, so as to maintain justice as an end goal
