The Judicial and Judicious Use of Shame Penalties

Abstract

This article analyzes and critiques the recent use of judicial shame penalties. Arguing that these penalties are designed to satisfy a “retributive impulse,” they communicate and enforce normative, as opposed to legal, standards. The power of the sanction is found in the threat of social exclusion. Three classes of shame penalties are identified: public exposure, debasement, and apology penalties. Critique of the penalties focuses on the risk of stigmatization and exclusion, the structural preconditions for offender reintegration, and the potentiality of using shame sanctions in an individualistic society.