Nature and Degree of Public Danger of Crime and Identity of the Offender as the Criteria for Imposing Punishment

Abstract

A fair punishment should be based on two criteria: the nature and degree of public danger of crime and the identity of the offender. In the context of the provisions of Art. 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the goals of punishment (restoring social justice, correcting the convict and preventing the commission of new crimes), the prevalence of one criterion over another is unacceptable in law enforcement. Domination of the assessment of the nature and degree of public danger of crime will mean retaliation through punishment. However, the committed crime characterizes the offender in a certain way. Achieving the goals of punishment is impossible if, when defining the punishment, one does not take into account the pre-criminal and post-criminal behavior of the person. Based on these arguments, the author concludes that the two criteria for the imposition of punishment are inextricably linked and in interaction with each other. With the increase in the risk of criminal behavior, the influence of the circumstances characterizing the positive pre-criminal and post-criminal behavior of the individual on the punishment is weakened. The less dangerous the criminal behavior is, the greater the circumstances positively characterizing the person influence the measure of punishment. The compliance with these patterns will make it possible to avoid mistakes in law enforcement.