This book discusses whether a system of criminal punishment can be justified within our legal system.
How can a system of criminal punishment be justified? In particular can it be justified if the moral demand that we respect each other as autonomous moral agents is taken seriously? Traditional attempts to justify punishment as a deterrent or as retribution fail, but Duff suggests that punishment can be understood as a communicative attempt to bring a wrong-doer to repent her crime. This account is supported by discussions of moral blame, of penance, of the nature of the law''s demands, and of the proper meaning and purpose of the criminal process of trial and verdict: it deals both with the ideals that should inform a system of criminal law and the extent to which those ideals are actualised in existing institutions and practices. The conclusion is pessimistic: punishment cannot be justified within our legal system; and this gap between the ideal and the actual presents us with serious moral dilemmas.
Get Trials and Punishments by at the best price and quality guranteed only at Werezi Africa largest book ecommerce store. The book was published by Cambridge University Press and it has pages. Enjoy Shopping Best Offers & Deals on books Online from Werezi - Receive at your doorstep - Fast Delivery - Secure mode of Payment