2 - Criminological and Penological Theories

REASONS WHY DEATH
PENALTY BECAME THE

USUAL PUNISHMENT
1. Death of outlaws became a “protection
for the English people”. It is because the
people during this period did not totally
believe yet in the ability to a strong
police force to combat criminals.
2. People lack confidence in the
transportation of criminals. Gaols and
Galleys became center of corruption and
ineffective instruments of punishment.
3. Doctrine of Crude Intimidation

appeared or seemed to be a logical form
of threat in order to deter or prevent the
people from violating the law.
4. The assumption was that, the Ruling
Class is tasked to protect property rights
and maintain public peace and order. The
system of maintaining public order had
little consideration or it did not recognize
the social and economic condition of the
lower working class. The lawmakers and
enforcers used death penalty to cover
property loss or damage with out further
contemplating the value of life of other
people.
CRIMINOLOGICAL
AND
PENOLOGICAL
THEORIES
 Pre – Classical Theories
 Secular Theory of Punishment –
this theory believes that punishment
is a means of restoring between the
pleasure and the pain. This was
asserted by Aristotle in his book,
“Nicomedian Ethics”.
 Judean or Christian Theory – this theory
of expiation believes that punishment has a
redemptive purpose for repealing sin
advocated by evil which emerged after 30
years AD.
 Rise of Canonical Courts – the theory
under this church was mainly reformatory in
purpose. In 4th AD a conflict and rivalry
between the churches and states emerged in
the way offenses are tried.
 Individualization of Punishment
– this theory gave the judges wide
discretion to add to the punishment
additional penalties in view of the
circumstances.
 The Classical School – it maintains the
“doctrine of psychological hedonism” or “free will”.
That the individual calculates pleasures and
pains in advance of action and regulates his
conduct by the result of his calculations.
This theory came about as a protest against
the abuses and discriminatory power of the judges.
This was through the effort of Cesare Beccaria and
Jeremy Betham. In Beccaria’s book known as Crime
and Punishment triggered the beginning of the
classical school of criminal law and punishment.
His protest were directed against:
 The arbitrary penalties by the judges
 Defects in the criminal procedure
particularly in the admission of
testimonies and evidences;
 Incrimination of witnesses
 Torture
 Long pending cases
 The abuse of powers perpetuated by
the rich and influential members of the
society
 Principles of Classical School of
Penology
 Since all men are equal, the equal
rights and liberties of individual
must be respected.
 All must be treated alike in the
administration of justice.
 The Neo-classical School – it
maintained that while the classical
doctrine is correct in general, it should
be modified in certain details. Since
children and lunatics cannot calculate
the differences of pleasures from pain,
they should not be regarded as
criminals; hence they should be free
from punishment.
 Influenced by the 1819 French Code and by
the Quakers in New England. The idea of
giving emphasis on the crime and its causes
rather than the criminal himself. This theory
argues that punishment should be imposed to
some law breakers but not to others by
recognition of the exempting and justifying
circumstances like minority of the offender
and insanity. This allowed certain
modifications in the practice of classical school
of thought.
 Effects of Neo-Classical School
 Children and insane persons were
exempted from punishment
 Punishment was mitigated or reduction
of punishment for partial freedom of
the will due to lack of complete
responsibility.
 It represented the reaction against the
severity of the classical theory of equal
punishment.
 The Positivist/Italian School – the
school that denied individual
responsibility and reflected non-punitive
reactions to crime and criminality. It
adheres that crimes, as any other act, is a
natural phenomenon. Criminals are
considered as sick individuals who need
to be treated by treatment programs
rather than punitive actions against
them.
 The adherents of this theory maintain
that crime cannot be treated and
checked by the imposition of
punishment fixed and determined, but
thru the enforcement of individual
measures in such particular case after
a prior investigation conducted by body
of psychiatrist and social scientist.
 Advocates of Classical School (LFG)
 Cesare Lombroso – he published
his book “The Criminal in Relation to
Anthropology, Jurisprudence and
Psychiatry”, wherein he has sought
to explain the physical constitution
of a man and its effects to criminal
tendencies.
 Enrico Ferri – He focused more on
social and economic factors on the
criminal and crime rates, rather
than physiological profiling of
criminals. He became the founder of
positivist school researching
psychological and social positivism.
His work served as a basis for
Argentina’s Penal Code in 1921.
• Rafaelle Garofalo – He stressed that
crimes would be understood by
scientific methods, in understanding
the traits and circumstances of
criminal offenders. His major
contribution was the formulation of a
theory of natural crimes. The theory
embraces crime of two types: those of
violence and those against property.

2 - Criminological and Penological Theories

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2 - Criminological and Penological Theories

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2 - Criminological and Penological Theories

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

REASONS WHY DEATH

PENALTY BECAME THE

3. Doctrine of Crude Intimidation

You might also like