crime and punishment

In 1764, Cesare Beccaria, a highly regarded Italian criminologist, politician, jurist, philosopher and one of the most notable figures of the Age of Enlightenment, wrote a treatise called On Crimes and Punishment that – rooted in a sense of rationalism, humanity, and an opposition to unjust suffering - advocated for significant reform of the criminal justice system. One of Beccaria’s strongest convictions was that life and freedom were amongst the highest values of human existence, and as such the removal of liberty was both a more effective and more just punishment than harming the physical body or ending a life; he was one of the first proponents for the abolishment of the death penalty. Beccaria also advocated for an established proportional measure between the severity of a crime and the degree of the punishment. 

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A modern example of this concept in practice is evident in the case of disgraced South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. He was initially found guilty of culpable homicide and as such was sentenced to a five-year incarceration. However, when the verdict was appealed and Pistorius was subsequently convicted of murder, his sentence was – eventually – increased to thirteen years and five months; murder carries a harsher punishment than culpable homicide (the equivalent of manslaughter in British and American law) due to the supposed presence of intent, forethought, or a distinct disregard for human life.  

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However, in other instances, the punishment does not appear to be proportional to the severity of the crime, such as in the recent, highly publicised case of Brock Turner. A student athlete at Stanford University, Turner was accused, and ultimately found guilty, of sexually assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated 22-year old female. He received what was widely regarded as a disgustingly short sentence; six months in jail, of which he served just three. Widespread criticism ensued, and the length of the incarceration was attributed to rampant racial, gender and class privilege both within the criminal justice system and society at large. At the time of writing, Turner and his legal team had just announced that they were seeking to appeal his conviction; should he lose, he risks receiving a harsher sentence than he did in the original trial, and being returned to jail. 

Prior to the judicial reform brought about by the publication of On Crimes and Punishment, people could lose hands as punishment for theft, and the practice is still employed in some areas of the world, particularly those governed by a narrow interpretation of Islamic Law, such as Saudi Arabia. Similarly, while the United Kingdom abolished the death penalty is its entirety in 1998, it is still legal a form of punishment in 31 of the 50 American states. 

 

There have been sporadic discussions generated by certain factions of British society regarding the reinstatement of capital punishment, particularly in regards to judicial cases deemed to be particularly reprehensible. The topic was raised again recently when it was reported that Jon Venables - one of the two boys who, in 1983 and at the age of 10, tortured and murdered two-year-old James Bulger – had been recalled to prison for the second time after he was found to have violated the terms of his life-long licence conditions by being found with indecent images of children in his possession. Given the nature of the accusation, the fact of Jon Venebales propensity to reoffend, and the repeated cost to the taxpayer of providing him with multiple new identities, there were calls on social media – and in the right wing tabloid press, for him to receive the death sentence. However, regardless of the severity of Venebales’, or any other offenders’ crimes, a 2004 protocol passed in the European Convention of Human Rights served to bind the United Kingdom in the prohibition of reinstating capital punishment, for as long as it remains a member of the convention. 

It is clear that effective, proportional punishment is needed to both deter people from committing crimes in the first place, and to properly impart justice on those who still choose to do so. The judicial system is designed to be a fair entity in the sentencing of individuals, but as cases like Brock Turner serve to highlight, it is not immune from systemic bias, nor, as the case of Jon Venebales indicates, is it capable of definitively prohibiting re-offense. Beccaria called for his initial reforms over 250 years ago; despite the many years of improvements and betterments that have come into effect since then, the system is perhaps overdue for some more.