Utilitarian Justifications

Question 1

To a person considered by himself, the value of a pleasure or pain considered by itself will be greater or less according to the four following circumstances:

Answer 1

“1.Its intensity.
2.Its duration.
3.Its certainty or uncertainty.
4.Its propinquity or remoteness. “

Question 2

General Deterrence

Answer 2

the use of punishment to deter others from committing crimes

Question 3

Specific Deterrence

Answer 3

“The actual imposition of punishment creates fear in the offender that if he repeats his act, he will be punished again.”

“To deter an offender from repeating his actions, a penalty should be severe enough to outweigh in his mind the benefits of the crime. For the utilitarian, more severe punishment of repeat offenders is warranted partly because the first penalty has shown itself ineffective from the standpoint of individual deterrence.”

Question 4

Incapacitation

Answer 4

“Imprisonment temporarily puts convicted criminals out of general circulation, and the death penalty does so permanently. These punishments physically prevent persons of dangerous disposition from acting upon their destructive tendencies. Less drastic forms of risk management include probationary or parole supervision, and accompanying requirements (for example, random urine tests to detect use of illegal drugs) and prohibitions (use of alcohol or firearms, association with certain persons, contact with the victim, and so on).”

D’s imprisonment prevents him from committing crimes in the outside society during the period of segregation. Notion that putting someone in prison will get them off the street.
a. Effective given it does not allow the individual the opportunity to commit crimes

Question 5

Reform

Answer 5

Used to reduce future crime, by using the correctional system to reform the wrongdoer rather than to secure compliance through the fear of “bad taste” of punishment.