[ExI] punishment

Gordon Swobe gts_2000 at yahoo.com
Mon Mar 23 02:40:25 UTC 2009


--- On Sun, 3/22/09, Lee Corbin <lcorbin at rawbw.com> wrote:

>> I find it interesting that while almost every
>> reasonable person will agree that we ought to
>> incarcerate or execute wrong-doers, there seems
>> to exist no clear consensus on exactly why. 
> 
> Eh? Well, the only disagreements I know about are
> (a) whether deterrence is effective (it is, obviously,
> or I would speed a lot more than I do), and (b)
> whether rehabilitation is possible (which at the
> present time, it is not, short of extreme brain-
> washing techniques).

Some people reject retributive justice. See for example this criticism of retributive justice from: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice

"According to some theories of ethics, punishment (or proportional punishment) is evidently self-contradictory. Retributive punishment is unethical, these theories essentially claim, [because] 'two wrongs do not make a right... Some hold that the motive behind the Christian sanction for interpersonal relations ('turn the other cheek' before seeking retribution for a wrong), and the motive behind the sanctions for social magistrates (which include the application of retributive justice, e.g., 'just stonings'), conflict." 

-gts



      



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