The ‘just desserts’ theory of sentencing is a form of Retributivism, which is a late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century theory of punishment based on lex talionis or the law of vengeance, derived from the works of a German theorist Immanuel Kant. Retributivism contends that when an individual commits a crime, his punishment should be the equivalent of the crime committed. Kant argued that humans are free and rational agents who recognise that any wrong committed would have to be met with a deserving and equal punishment by the state. He believed that a states failure to punish this wrong would be a corroboration of sorts in the wrongdoing. Furthermore, he held that punishment must only be inflicted upon those who have committed a. The main introduction to a ‘just deserts’ philosophy began in the 1991 Criminal Justice Act.
See the punishments deserved as much less than those currently administered by criminal justice systems. But liberal versions of just deserts inevitably reduce,. Just Desserts: A retributive theory of criminal punishment that proposes reduced judicial discretion in sentencing and specific sentences for criminal acts without regard to the individual defendant.
This act formally established retributivism and condemnation as the primary aims of sentencing and advocated proportionality and consistency within sentencing practice. Unfortunately, penal policy in the UK did not match up to the notion of ‘just deserts. In reality: ‘the 1980s had witnessed a growing emphasis on a punitive law and order ideology, and consequently the 1991 act also ensured that violent or sexual offenders would go to prison for long periods, which in some cases might be greater than their offense might warrant.
This practice of “incapacitating” particular offenders was completely inconsistent with a true justice model.’the implementation of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, and the introduction of the Sentencing Council as the single statutory body in charge of issuing guidelines on sentencing. As a result, courts are now required by statute to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines relevant to the offenders case unless they are satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
The Sentencing Council is in the process of producing sentencing guidelines for a range of offences with the intention of targeting recidivism and creating greater consistency in sentencing while still allowing for a degree of discretion (amongst other aims), but for the purpose of this essay we will examine only the Definitive. 2724 Words 11 Pageswhat it expects of us and in response to this gives us laws that we are not legitimate to disobey. We currently live in a de facto and de jure state where no one else can take part in violence apart from the state when needed, and the laws are seen as just.From the seventeenth century to the late twentieth century there has been a change in society creating a modernist era which saw the ending of feudalism and the devotement of capitalism. (Hudson, 2003:3) This period saw changes in the way individuals.
Description: Law and Human Behavior, the official journal of the American Psychology-Law Society/Division 41 of the American Psychological Association, is a multidisciplinary forum for the publication of articles and discussions of issues arising out of the relationships between human behavior and the law, our legal system, and the legal process. This journal publishes original research, reviews of past research, and theoretical studies from professionals in criminal justice, law, psychology, sociology, psychiatry, political science, education, communication, and other areas germane to the field. The 'moving wall' represents the time period between the last issueavailable in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal.Moving walls are generally represented in years. In rare instances, apublisher has elected to have a 'zero' moving wall, so their currentissues are available in JSTOR shortly after publication.Note: In calculating the moving wall, the current year is not counted.For example, if the current year is 2008 and a journal has a 5 yearmoving wall, articles from the year 2002 are available.
Terms Related to the Moving Wall Fixed walls: Journals with no new volumes being added to the archive. Absorbed: Journals that are combined with another title. Complete: Journals that are no longer published or that have beencombined with another title. What motivates a person's desire to punish actors who commit intentional, counternormative harms?
Two possible answers are a just deserts motive or a desire to incarcerate the actor so that he cannot be a further danger to society. Research participants in two experiments assigned punishments to actors whose offenses were varied with respect to the moral seriousness of the offense and the likelihood that the perpetrator would commit similar future offenses.
Respondents increased the punishment as the seriousness of the offense increased, but their sentences were not affected by variations in the likelihood of committing future offenses, suggesting that just deserts was the primary sentencing motive. Only in a case in which a brain tumor was identified as the cause of an actor's violent action, a case that does not fit the standard prototype of a crime intentionally committed, did respondents show a desire to incarcerate the actor in order to prevent future harms rather than assigning a just deserts based punishment.
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