Concept of criminal punishment - Essay Example

Concept of Criminal Punishment Punishment, as comprehended in the US, combines the denunciation, retributive and utilitarian theories. Retribution constitutes the chief rationale for punishment in the US, and the sentence inflicted upon an accused, invariably includes some form of retribution. Greek and Roman societies inflicted death, exile, incarceration, corporal punishment and slavery on offenders. Such punitive measures were imported into England; and capital punishment was commonly awarded for over 200 offences, several of which were trifling crimes like swindling.

The punishments were particularly barbaric and varied from hanging to beheading and burning at the stake. The English were notorious for their use of corporal punishment and their penchant for this form of punishment proliferated in their iniquitous colonies (Punishment ). The American colonies witnessed such abnormal cruelty at the hands of the English masters, and a semblance of civilized behavior was established after the advent of independence. Gradually, corporal punishment was rooted out of the American penal system, and the extant penal system has no room for such iniquitous measures (Punishment ).

From the dawn of civilization, societies have implemented a wide array of punishments to deter crime. Initially and even today in some of the Islamic countries, the lex talionis or the law of equal retaliation used to hold sway. In this form of punishment the retribution is akin to the crime committed. For instance, in some Islamic countries, a thief’s hand is amputated. This is termed as the law of hudūd. An improvement over these barbaric customs was the exaction of money from the perpetrators of crime.

This was predominant in England from the 5th to the 15th century. Such money was required to be paid as compensation for theft, personal injury and death (Champion, 2007). The American penal system is characterized by a high rate of incarceration. This is on account of the proliferation of crime and the resolve of the authorities to enhance the number of compulsory sentences. The discretionary powers of the judiciary have been curtailed, since the 1980’s with the consequence that the length of sentences increased from 39 to 54 months.

This measure has been hailed as a grand success, because there was a substantial decrease in the crime rate. However, of late, the crime rate has displayed an increase. This has been attributed to the absence of a properly implemented rehabilitation program for convicts, and the proclivity of the authorities to imprison people with élan. This tendency is unjustified and has resulted in several instances of miscarriage of justice. Moreover, it speaks ill of an illustrious nation like the US (Too many convicts – Too many convicts, 2002).

The extant theories of punishment can be classified as either utilitarian or retributive. The latter inflicts punishment on an offender, as a token of society’s perceived desire to take revenge for the harm caused to it. On the other hand, the utilitarian category of punishments strives to deter crime. A genre of utilitarian punishments is rehabilitation, which attempts to provide offenders an opportunity to rejoin society as reformed citizens. An important raison dêtre for punishment is denunciation, which conveys the censure of society to the delinquent.

The theory of denunciation comprises of a commingling of retribution and utilitarianism; because it entails public denouncement, as well as the notion that an offender is deserving of punishment (Punishment ). As such, behavior that is construed to be detrimental to society in its entirety is precluded by criminal law. The violators of criminal law are subjected to criminal punishment by the State. The nature of this punishment takes various forms, and some of these are fines, corporal punishment, incarceration and even execution.

Punishment had been chiefly retributory, with a wronged society seeking to revenge itself on the wrongdoer. However, some significant changes have transpired in criminology, and the perceived objective of punishment is to have a deterrent effect, along with measures to reform the criminal and turn him away from crime (Champion, 2007). List of ReferencesChampion, D. J. (2007). Criminal Punishment . Microsoft® Student 2008 [DVD] . Redmond, WA, USA: Microsoft Corporation.Punishment . (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2009, from The Free Dictionary: http://legal-dictionary.

thefreedictionary.com/Criminal+punishmentToo many convicts – Too many convicts. (2002, August 10). The Economist, US Edition .