Mid-Term 2

Question 1

Classical School

Answer 1

perspective premised on the belief that potential criminals, being rational beings capable or free will, will be deterred by the threat of swift, severe punishment.

Question 2

Beccaria believed what 3 conditions needed to be met to deter potential offenders

Answer 2

1. Certainty of Punishment
2. Swiftness of justice
   Fair penalties proportionate to severity of crime

Question 3

Beccaria’s doctrine is characterized by 4 principles:

Answer 3

1. Equality: all offenders must be treated equally
2. Liberty: “Only the law can decree punishment for crime”
3. Utilitarianism: purpose of punishment should be “to instill fear in other men” to deter crime
4. Humanitarianism: punishment should not be only fair but humane

Question 4

Felicific calculus

Answer 4

mathematical formula for calculating how much pain is needed to dissuade someone from committing an offence.

Question 5

William and Hawkins: 3 indirect social costs of arrest

Answer 5

1. commitment cost: could harm future opportunities
2. Attachment cost: could result in harm to personal circumstances
3. Stigma: could harm one’s personal/public image

Question 6

Positivist School

Answer 6

Adherents measure behaviour and rehabilitation over punishment

Question 7

Biological determinism

Answer 7

doctrine that denies free will while maintaining that our decisions are decided by predictable and/or inherited causes that influence our character.

Question 8

Atavism

Answer 8

biological condition supposedly rendering an individual incapable of living within the norms of a society