By: Michael Tonry (Editor)

Hardcover

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For nearly two centuries in the United States, the punishment of crime was largely aimed, in theory and in practice, at prevention, rehabilitation or incapacitation, and deterrence. In the mid-1970s, a sharp-and some argued permanent-shift occurred. Punishment in the criminal justice system became first and foremost about retribution. Retribution trumped rehabilitation; proportionality outweighed prevention. The retributivist sea change was short-lived, however. After a few decades, some policy makers returned tentatively to individualized approaches to punishment, launching initiatives like drug courts and programs for treatment and reentry. Others promoted policies that retained the rhetoric but betrayed the theory-punishment in proportion to culpability-of retributivism, resulting in mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes-and-you're-out laws, "dangerous offender" and "sexual predator" laws, "truth in sentencing," and life without the possibility of parole.

What now for retributivism?

Retributivism Has a Past: Has It a Future? brings thoughtfulness and rigor back into the retributivism debate. This collection of essays trains some of the most influential and brightest established and up-and-coming legal and philosophical minds on how retributivism does, might, or should affect contemporary policy and practices. The volume's aim is neither to condemn nor to justify, but to take new policies and practices seriously and examine them closely.

At a time when criminal-justice policy makers are forced to reconsider contemporary approaches to punishment and attempt to devise new ones, Retributivism Has a Past: Has It a Future? offers serious theoretical critiques of the recent past and justifications for possible futures.

"Writings on theories of punishment are legion, but this volume has a distinct freshness--a group of top international scholars with varying perspectives have been encouraged to explore the interfaces between philosophies of punishment and contemporary penal practices. Nothing is taken for granted. Drug courts, 'three strikes and you're out' laws, and sentences lengthened for public protection are all vital issues of public policy that receive scrutiny in this volume. While the title of the volume refers to retributivism, the essays themselves are not confined to discussions of the future of desert theory: they explore the future place of restorative justice, incapacitation and other rationales, and examine challenges to the basic tenets of desert theory. The intellectual freshness of this volume should make it a focus of study and argument for years to come."
--Andrew Ashworth, Vinerian Professor of English Law, University of Oxford

"Retributivism Has a Past is an import

Preface One: Can Twenty-first Century Punishment Policies be Justified in Principle? Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota Two: What Does Wrongdoing Deserve? John Kleinig, CUNY Three: Is Twenty-first Century Punishment Post-Desert? Matt Matravers, York University Four: Responsibility, Restoration, and Retribution R. A. Duff, University of Minnesota Five: Punishment and Desert-adjusted Utilitarianism Jesper Ryberg, Roskilde University, Copenhagen Six: The Future of State Punishment: The Role of Public Opinion in Sentencing Julian V. Roberts, Oxford University Seven: A Political Theory of Imprisonment for Public Protection Peter Ramsay, London School of Economics Eight: Terror as a Theory of Punishment Alice Ristroph, Seton Hall University Nine: Can Above-desert Penalties Be Justified by Competing Deontological Theories? Richard S. Frase, University of Minnesota Ten: Never Mind the Pain; It's a Measure! Justifying Measures as Part of the Dutch Bifurcated System of Sanctions Jan de Keijser, University of Leiden Eleven: Retributivism, Proportionality, and the Challenge of the Drug Court Movement Douglas Husak, Rutgers University Twelve: Drug Treatment Courts as Communicative Punishment Michael M. O'Hear, Marquette University Thirteen: Reflections on Punishment Futures: The Desert-Model Debate and the Importance of the Criminal Law Context Andreas von Hirsch, Cambridge University

ISBN: 9780199798278
ISBN-10: 0199798273
Series: Studies in Penal Theory and Philosophy
Audience: Tertiary; University or College
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 304
Published: 12th December 2011
Dimensions (cm): 24.2 x 16.3  x 2.69
Weight (kg): 0.536