NCJ Number
116686
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 49 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1986) Pages: 47-80
Date Published
1986
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This article examines the theoretical relationship between the concepts of punishment, desert, and responsibility in an attempt to identify a satisfactory general theory of criminal responsibility.
Abstract
After discussing the retributive and utilitarian theories, the article concludes that neither functions as a satisfactory theory of punishment. If a punishment is perceived to be deserved, it is not necessary to put forward any other justification for carrying out the punishment. In recognizing the relationship between desert and punishment, we also recognize human beings' capacities to be free, morally responsible, and deserving. Desert without punishment is a morally incoherent position just as is responsibility without desert. 87 footnotes.