Retributivist Theory of Punishment: Some Comments
Retributivist Theory of Punishment: Some Comments
Author(s): Adebayo AinaSubject(s): Philosophy, Social Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Psychology, Special Branches of Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of Law
Published by: Институт по философия и социология при БАН
Keywords: Desert; justice; punishment; proportionality; retributivist; utilitarian
Summary/Abstract: The Retributivist approach to punishment attempts to address the challenges posed by utilitarian conception that punitive actions should strictly be associated with a cost-effective means to certain independently identifiable goods at the expense of justice. Justice proffers how the guilty deserve to be punished and no moral consideration relevant to punishment outweighs an offender’s criminal desert. However, this just desert provokes difficulty in discerning proportionality between the moral gravity of each offence and the specific penalties attached. This consequently degenerates to another form of ‘lex talionis’ (revenge) in punitive justice.
Journal: Balkan Journal of Philosophy
- Issue Year: X/2018
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 63-70
- Page Count: 8
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF
