Punishment of a crime

Legal Punishment and its Justification The central question asked by philosophers of punishment is: What can justify punishment? More precisely, since they do not usually talk much about punishment in such contexts as the family or the workplace but see Zaibert ; Bennett Part II , their question is: What can justify formal, legal punishment imposed by the state on those convicted of committing criminal offences? What then are we to justify in justifying punishment? The search for a precise definition of punishment that exercised some philosophers for discussion and references, see Scheid ; Boonin 3—28; Zimmerman ch. Two points are worth particular notice here.

See also: Felony and Misdemeanor A principle often mentioned with respect to the degree of punishment to be meted out is that the punishment should match the crime. Measurements of the degree of seriousness of a crime have been developed. Possible reasons for punishment[ edit ] See also: Criminal justice There are many possible reasons that might be given to justify or explain why someone ought to be punished; here follows a broad outline of typical, possibly conflicting, justifications. Deterrence prevention [ edit ] Two reasons given to justify punishment [8] is that it is a measure to prevent people from committing an offence - deterring previous offenders from re-offending, and preventing those who may be contemplating an offence they have not committed from actually committing it. This punishment is intended to be sufficient that people would choose not to commit the crime rather than experience the punishment.

Every society, throughout history and across the world, has unique ideas about the meaning of these concepts. This has given rise to a variety of theories about how to address offenders and their actions. Different Types of Criminal Punishment The following are five of the most commonly seen types of criminal punishment: Incapacitation Incapacitation seeks to prevent future crime by physically moving criminals away from society. Banishment was a common penalty in antiquity.

A crime is a serious offence such as murder or robbery. A punishment is a penalty imposed on somebody who is convicted of a crime. A punishment could be, for example, time in prison or a fine. There is an important difference between criminal law and civil law.