Crime and Punishment

Gae presented this on Friday 10 November 2017

This article is brief and outlines the main theories/approaches (with some US history):

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Theories+of+Punishment

The Wikipedia article is poorly written but has some useful info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment

This brief and clear article overlaps with the others, but has a few additional ideas:

http://law.jrank.org/pages/9576/Punishment-THEORIES-PUNISHMENT.html

Here is an Aussie article that is very academic in style, but has lots of interesting info about the

‘real world’ – what is done and said by judges about the punishment they mete out. Good on the

validity of deterrence. Also some info on public opinion about the purpose of sentencing:

https://njca.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Warner-paper.pdf

Some discussion of traditional indigenous punishments:

https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/21.%20Aboriginal%20Customary%20Laws%20and%20Sente

ncing/aboriginal-customary-laws-and-notion-%E2%80%98puni

Mandatory Sentences

NSW rules about situations where a life sentence is mandated:

https://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/benchbks/sentencing/mandatory_life_sentences.html

There are arguments against mandatory sentencing here:

https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/nsw-mandatory-sentencing/

Capital Punishment

I confess I haven’t read these sources but here are a few:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment

This US organisation works on cases to get reprieves:

https://reprieve.org/death-penalty/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5vW-tauU1wIVUh5oCh3Vhg-

jEAAYASAAEgKzLfD_BwE

This looks useful:

https://theconversation.com/death-penalty-is-capital-punishment-morally-justified-42970

Australian paper, with analysis:

http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi003.pdf

Podcasts

As you know, I don’t do podcasts, but here are some possibilities...which I haven’t listened to

myself of course.

Rationales for punishment:

https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/01/28/jeffrie-g-murphy-cruel-unusual-podcast-on-rationales-for-punishment/

https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/keywords/theory

Questions for discussion could include...

1. How would we classify the Australian judicial punishment regime in relation to the elements:

retribution, deterrence etc.?

2. Governments’ punishment regimes:

(a) To what extent do you think they’re driven by a need to ‘appease’ the populace?

(b) Do you think the approach may be driven by expedience? (easier than educating

everyone)

punishment?

3. What do you think about punishment (and the concept of deterrence) when violence is the

result of alcohol or drugs (see p10 of 4 source on the list)

4. Capital punishment – do you think it can ever be justified?

5. What merits do you see in traditional indigenous punishments?

6. What would a world without custodial sentences look like? (You’d probably always need

exceptions for cases where there’s a genuine need to protect the community?)

7. What about a world where there was no punishment? (see “Criticism” in the Wikipedia

article on Punishment).