Punishment For Committing A Crime Essay - 2085 Words

Punishment for committing a crime is a common and widespread practise across the world. The moral reasons as to why punishment is used in response to crime can vary greatly. Two theories of punishment include consequentialism, the belief that punishment should be performed because of the good consequences that come from it; and retributivism, the belief that it is morally justified to punish criminals because they deserve it, regardless of the consequences. These theories of morally justified punishment are also used in response to justifying the use of capital punishment however, these theories do not adequately justify how capital punishment can be morally justifiable. This can be shown by having a look at how consequentialism fails in regards to justifying capital punishment, how retributivism also fails to justify capital punishment, and lastly how the two theories are hypocritical and inconsistent with other morals. Consequentialism seeks to justify punishment through the good consequences that result from it. This theory looks to try and increase the amount of happiness in society and uses punishment to benefit society as a result. This type of theory is forward-looking, caring more about the consequences of what punishment will do for society rather the act of punishment itself (Dolinko, 2003, pg. 75). With capital punishment, it can be seen as both general deterrence, deterring other criminals from committing the same crime; and incapacitation of the offenderShow MoreRelatedPunishment and Sentencing Paper1278 Words   |  6 PagesPunishment and Sentencing Paper CJA/224 Garrett LeGrange September 17, 2010 There are many different philosophies that are in use in the court systems when determining what sort of punishment will be imposed on someone who is found guilty of committing a crime. These philosophies are in use in both the adult courts and juvenile courts. 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