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- The primary goal of retribution is to ensure that punishments are proportionate to the seriousness of the crimes committed, regardless of the individual differences between offenders. Thus, retribution focuses on the past offense, rather than the offender. This can be phrased as “a balance of justice for past harm.”
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- Overview
- Retribution as a philosophy
- Criticisms of retribution
retributive justice, response to criminal behaviour that focuses on the punishment of lawbreakers and the compensation of victims. In general, the severity of the punishment is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.
Retribution appears alongside restorative principles in law codes from the ancient Near East, including the Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2050 bce), the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 2000 bce), and the better-known Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1750 bce). In those legal systems, collectively referred to as cuneiform law, crimes were considered violations of other people’s rights. Victims were to be compensated for the intentional and unintentional harms they suffered, and offenders were to be punished because they had done wrong.
Retribution is based on the concept of lex talionis—that is, the law of retaliation. At its core is the principle of equal and direct retribution, as expressed in Exodus 21:24 as “an eye for an eye.” Destroying the eye of a person of equal social standing meant that one’s own eye would be put out. Some penalties designed to punish culpable behaviour by individuals were specifically tied to outlawed acts. Branders who used their skills to remove slave marks from runaway slaves, for example, had their hands amputated.
No other punishment philosophy gives so much importance to actus reus (a guilty act) and mens rea (a guilty state of mind). Under retribution, both elements of the crime must be present before punishment can be imposed. In addition, offenders may be punished only for the guilty acts they actually commit; those who plan a murder but succeed only in wounding a victim, for example, should not be punished as harshly as those who actually carry out the murder.
Under retributive justice schemes, it is also important that offenders actually be guilty of the crime for which a penalty has been imposed. True deterrence doctrine, according to the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, allows for the punishment of innocent individuals if doing so would serve a valuable societal function (e.g., creating and maintaining an image that crime is detected and punished so that others are deterred from crime). That idea is repugnant to retributionists, who believe that punishment should be meted out only to those who have broken laws. The value of retribution cannot be cheapened by using it to compensate for inadequacies of the justice system.
Retribution also forbids the punishment of offenders who cannot be held responsible for their actions. Insane or intellectually disabled individuals, for example, should not be penalized for acts that result from mental illness or disability. In addition, acts that are truly accidental, as well as those committed by children, are not subject to the same punishment as those committed by adults who possess criminal intent. The reasoning is simple when viewed through the lens of retributive theory. If individuals do not or cannot form mens rea (i.e., they cannot freely choose how they act), they do not deserve to be punished for their actions. As in the time of Hammurabi, however, victims are entitled to damages, because causing harm—even in the absence of intent—carries the obligation of restoring one’s victims.
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Of course, no punishment theory is without its critics. Many of those who criticize retribution argue that the philosophy is outdated. As societies become more civilized, they should outgrow the need or desire for revenge. Others note that punishing criminals just because they have acted inappropriately does not address any underlying issues that may have led to the crimes in the first place. Some offenders need treatment rather than punishment; without treatment, the cycle of crime will continue unabated.
Other critics note that it is not feasible to establish a satisfactory scale of punishments for crimes. Even if such a scale could be developed, it would probably fail to consider offenders’ differing roles and motivations in committing crimes. Yet such considerations are important to retributionists, given their focus on deserved sanctions rather than punishment for its own sake.
- Jon'a F. Meyer
Dec 5, 2022 · The 52 Frequently Tested AP® World History Terms & Concepts 7 Frequently Tested AP® World History Concepts from Unit 1: The Global Tapestry 1. Dar al-Islam. The Dar al-Islam, commonly referred to as the House of Islam, is a broad term that refers to those countries where Muslims can practice their religion freely. Think of this term as areas ...
Jun 29, 2022 · Robert Longley. Updated on June 29, 2022. Retributive justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses solely on punishment, rather than deterrence—prevention of future crimes—or the rehabilitation of offenders.
- Robert Longley
Nov 21, 2023 · Explore the history of and discourse surrounding retribution in the criminal justice system and examples from justice systems around the world. Updated: 11/21/2023
- What are the 3 principles of retribution?The 3 core principles of retribution are: Those who commit certain crimes morally deserve to suffer a proportionate punishment. This punishment i...
- What are some examples of retribution?There are several ways retribution can be applied in the criminal justice system. In the case of financial matters, fines can be used as a form of...
- What is meant by retributive justice?Retributive justice is seeking justice via punishment that is equal to the crime. It seeks to cause suffering to the wrongdoer that is equal to the...
- What is the purpose of retribution in criminal justice?Retribution has the end goal of maintaining moral justice. Retribution theory holds that punishing wrongdoers is a necessary moral good for not onl...
- What is an example of retributive justice?Retributive justice is equal punishment for equal crime. An example of this is the common punishment for murderers being capital punishment (senten...
- What does retribution mean in criminal justice?In criminal justice, retribution refers to the idea of seeking punishment equal to a crime. The goal of retribution is not to make the victim whole...
Introduction to the U.S. Criminal Justice System. David Carter and Kate McLean. Retribution. Retribution, arguably the oldest of the ideologies/philosophies of punishment, is the only one that is “backward-looking,” or focused on the past offense (as opposed to future offending).
History of retribution. It is difficult to know when retribution was first used as a philosophy of justice, but the concept regularly recurs in many religions. There are mentions of it in several religious texts, including the Bible and the Qurʾān.
