NCJ Number
197355
Journal
Social Justice Research Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 85-98
Date Published
June 2002
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study of how the goals of punishment influence the decision to impose a harsh sentence.
Abstract
The author explains that public opinion concerning just punishments for criminal offenders can differ significantly. More particularly, there can be large differences in peoples’ attitudes concerning the harshness of criminal sentencing. The goal of this study was to analyze whether there was a relation between the goals of punishment and level of punitiveness imposed in a sentence. The authors mailed a questionnaire to random individuals in Bern, Switzerland. The questionnaire contained one of three vignettes concerning specific crimes. The participants read these stories and answered questions concerning the goals of sentencing, punitiveness, and perceived threat to society. A total of 357 participants completed the survey. The results show that the goals of sentencing are two-dimensional. One dimension concerns justice considerations that take into account either the victim’s needs or the needs of society as a whole. The other dimension refers to the willingness to punish the offender more or less punitively. The decision of punishment was related to the intention to include the offender in societal life or to exclude the offender from society. In particular, the authors found that if the goal of punishment was retribution, participants were more likely to impose a harsh sentence in order to exclude the offender. On the other hand, if the goal of punishment was restitution, the sentences were less harsh in order to integrate the offender back into society. Tables, figures, references