Week Twenty - Deterrence Flashcards
1866…
In 1866 a chaplain told the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment that he had personally ministered to 167 persons under sentence of death of whom 164 had attended at least one public execution.
General…
Individual and / or general
People will not offend for fear of penalty, but some people are more deterrable than others
some types of crime in some types of circumstances are more susceptible to deterrence
some prospective punishments are more compelling than others
Chances of being caught is a stronger deterrent
No reason to think that increasing the penalty deters more effectively
If there is an optimum penalty – just enough to deter – we have no idea what it is
Doubts about Deterrence…
Does deterrence allow the punishment of the innocent? Would it be justifiable to punish someone to set an example to others?
Could we punish an innocent person if the gain to us outweighed the harm to that person?
There are no safeguards to ensure that the severity of the sentence is in proportion to the harm of the offence.
Offenders are used as ‘a means subservient to the purposes of another’ rather than being treated as ends in themselves, thus denying their human dignity (Kant)
