Punishment Of Criminal Offenders Research Articles

Losing the lottery of life: Examining intuitions of desert toward the socially and genetically "unlucky" in criminal punishment contexts.

This research presents three experiments that examine how natural "luck" (social and genetic luck) may affect lay intuitions toward desert-based criminal punishment. Study 1 examined if intuitions surrounding desert-based rewards in relation to good qualities/advantages ascribed to natural luck would extend to desert-based punishments in relation to bad qualities/disadvantages ascribed to natural luck. Study 2 examined how both social and genetic luck affect support for desert-based punishment across different criminal offenses and tests the relevance of immanent justice reasoning to such support. Study 3 examined whether findings in the prior studies are specific to desert-based punishment and immanent justice reasoning, or if natural luck elicits broader punishment judgments and types of justice reasoning. Results showed that known intuitions surrounding desert-based rewards do extend to desert-based punishments in instances of natural luck. Immanent justice reasoning was strongly associated with support for desert-based punishment in instances of both social and genetic luck. However, genetic luck, as compared to social luck, significantly increased support for desert-based punishment, with imminent justice reasoning mediating this increased support. Implications are discussed in relation to capital sentencing and better understanding lay intuitions toward the punishment of criminal offenders who may have qualities ascribed to the "natural lottery."

Free to blame? Belief in free will is related to victim blaming.

The more people believe in free will, the harsher their punishment of criminal offenders. A reason for this finding is that belief in free will leads individuals to perceive others as responsible for their behavior. While research supporting this notion has mainly focused on criminal offenders, the perspective of the victims has been neglected so far. We filled this gap and hypothesized that individuals' belief in free will is positively correlated with victim blaming-the tendency to make victims responsible for their bad luck. In three studies, we found that the more individuals believe in free will, the more they blame victims. Study 3 revealed that belief in free will is correlated with victim blaming even when controlling for just world beliefs, religious worldviews, and political ideology. The results contribute to a more differentiated view of the role of free will beliefs and attributed intentions.

The process of individualisation of punishment in insolvency crimes

In the context of considerations concerning justice in the punishment of criminal offenders it is necessary to focus on the issue of individualisation of the sentence. Through this process the court determines the offender’s particular kind of punishment and sentence. The punishment should subsequently be an expression of society’s idea of the state’s fair reaction to the offence committed. The authors have focused on the process of individualisation of punishment in the case of sentencing offenders in insolvency crime. The theory of rational choice and ideals of restorative justice are of crucial importance in the authors’ thinking. In reflection of the object of the criminal activity and the element of reciprocity (presuming rationality of the perpetrator) we come down to the suitability of the more common imposition of pecuniary penalty on these perpetrators. The text analyses both the advantages and disadvantages of pecuniary penalty, not just in relation to insolvency offenders.

On Expressivism and Retributivism in ‘The Mighty and the Almighty’

This short comment explores Nicholas Wolterstorff's claims about expressivism and retributivism as justifications for the state's punishment of criminal offenders in his book, "The Mighty and the Almighty." It asks two questions about his account of expressivism and retributivism respectively, focusing on his interpretation of the reasons for punishment given by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans.

The Importance of Mutual Consent in Social Relationships under the Shariáh

Consent is recognized under Islamic Law as a necessary element in any social relationship (muamalat) between individuals. The importance of mutual consent between parties is regarded as predominant in various economic and non-economic activities, including business transactions, marriage contracts, punishment of criminal offenders and even for those seeking medical treatment. Thus, the requirement for mutual consent is indispensable in any transaction, without which the contract will be declared as null and void and ultimately, carries no legal effect. This is based on Quranic verse which states: “O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent” (4:29). The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has also been reported to have said: “Sale is but based on mutual consent”. These evidences clearly depict that all transactions must be based on free willingness of parties involved and the principles governing consent under the Shariah has three basic elements, that is, (i) Intention (Niyyah); (ii) Will (Irādah); and (iii) Choice (Ikhtiyār). Particularly, for those seeking medical treatment, consent is regarded as an indispensable element which must be obtained prior to executing the medical treatment. A doctor is under a duty to obtain consent from his patient beginning from the stage of informing the material risks to the patient until the completion of the medical treatment. Once consent has been obtained in accordance with the demands of the Shari’ah, then only the medical treatment will be considered to have been legally performed.

Kollaboration und der Wechsel der europäischen Wirtschaftseliten nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg

Abstract This article explores the similarities and differences in the persecution of economic elites in Germany and the occupied countries after the war. The shift of power after the liberation deeply influenced the process by which national elites were formed. However, below the highest ranks of administration and business, a remarkable continuity among the industrial managers and entrepreneurs can be discerned. At the local level, the persecution of elites often stagnated because the commissions deployed in administrative capacities were not capable of affecting changes in personel. Besides the punishment of criminal offenders, sanctions on businesses were enforced (confiscation of illicit profits) as well as career-related sanctions for individual collaborators. It was only in the state socialist countries that there was a major shift in elites due to the expropriation and nationalisation of the industrial sector. Ultimately, all the countries urgently needed skilled people especially engineers and technicians for the reconstruction of the post-war economies.

Kollaboration und der Wechsel der europäischen Wirtschaftseliten nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg

This article explores the similarities and differences in the persecution of economic elites in Germany and the occupied countries after the war. The shift of power after the liberation deeply influenced the process by which national elites were formed. However, below the highest ranks of administration and business, a remarkable continuity among the industrial managers and entrepreneurs can be discerned. At the local level, the persecution of elites often stagnated because the commissions deployed in administrative capacities were not capable of affecting changes in personel. Besides the punishment of criminal offenders, sanctions on businesses were enforced (confiscation of illicit profits) as well as career-related sanctions for individual collaborators. It was only in the state socialist countries that there was a major shift in elites due to the expropriation and nationalisation of the industrial sector. Ultimately, all the countries urgently needed skilled people especially engineers and technicians for the reconstruction of the post-war economies.

No skin off my back: retribution deficits in psychopathic motives for punishment

When deciding a criminal's punishment, people typically exhibit both retributive and consequentialist motives in their decision making, though retribution's role may be stronger. This study aimed to discern possible functions of retribution by examining a population predicted to be deficient in retributive drive. Participants who rated either high or low in psychopathic traits read stories about a homicide. These stories were designed to evoke both retribution and the consequentialist motive of behavior control by varying, respectively, criminal intent and likelihood of recidivism. The participants then recommended a length of confinement for the offender. Individuals high in psychopathic traits were uniquely insensitive to retributive cues, and they were particularly consequentialist in their punishment of criminal offenders. These results clarify aspects of psychopathic aggression and corroborate the hypothesis that retribution may stabilize cooperative behavior.

Let punishment and treatment fit the culture

Current philosophy concerning the function of punishment of criminal offenders— incapacitation, retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation—reflects merely theoretical attempts to justify unproductive responses to criminal conduct. This article argues that punishment/ treatment should be designed to correlate with the culture of the offender. The present methods of incarceration are inadequate in the United States, where “in‐group” and ethnicity are paramount. The article looks beyond theoretical issues and examines practical alternatives for dealing with the offenders. For punishment or treatment of Criminal offenders to be effective, cultural dimensions have to be fully considered. To be appropriate, a treatment/ punishment model should demonstrate some understanding of the values and behaviors considered essential to the offenders ethnic group.

Medical discipline. Part IV. Constitutional considerations--administrative regulation.

THEORIES of criminal law and penology that place emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment of criminal offenders, coupled with a propensity to view suspension or revocation of professional licenses as punishment, have caused some confusion regarding the applicability of rules of criminal law to medical board proceedings. Entrapment In criminal cases, entrapment is an accepted defense to commission of a wrongful act. It is successfully advanced by proving that the offense charged would not have been committed except for the trickery, persuasion, or fraud of a law officer or paid informer. The essential elements of the defense are a lack of criminal intent by the defendant prior to his contact with the officer and inducement or procurement of a criminal act by the officer, resulting in a crime that otherwise would not have been committed. This defense is not grounded on constitutional provisions. Rather, it springs from the widely approved

Medical discipline. Part III. Constitutional considerations-administrative regulation.

THEORIES of criminal law and penology that place emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment of criminal offenders, coupled with a propensity to view suspension or revocation of professional licenses as punishment, have caused some confusion regarding the applicability of rules of criminal law to medical board proceedings. Entrapment In criminal cases, entrapment is an accepted defense to commission of a wrongful act. It is successfully advanced by proving that the offense charged would not have been committed except for the trickery, persuasion, or fraud of a law officer or paid informer. The essential elements of the defense are a lack of criminal intent by the defendant prior to his contact with the officer and inducement or procurement of a criminal act by the officer, resulting in a crime that otherwise would not have been committed. This defense is not grounded on constitutional provisions. Rather, it springs from the widely approved