[ExI] What is Grace?

[Gordon Swobe]

--- On Wed, 3/11/09, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have the feeling that especially in the US many
> "hardliners" see criminal sentences as a form of biblical
> retribution ("you did the crime, you do the time"), and 
> the convicted felon as a sinner; 

Yes. I did a little study of this subject some time ago and found it surprising that some philosophers argue for retribution not on behalf of the victim, but rather on behalf of the criminal. On this view retributive justice provides the criminal an opportunity to do penance. He finds absolution through suffering.

-gts