PUB2 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Willful Blindness, Mens Rea, Aggravated Sexual Assault

• School: McGill University
• Department: Public Law 2
• Course: PUB2 111
• Professor: Maxime Hebrard

Document Summary

The distinctive feature of criminal law is that it involves punishment. Why do we punish: deterrence, punishment is not a moral imperative, unlike retribution. This comes from utilitarianism, just like incapacitation and rehabilitation. Most people don"t commit a crime without habit. They don"t commit it because they believe it"s wrong. The criminal justice system is here to reinforce those things: retribution, from lex taliones: an eye for an eye, today instead of bodily punishments, they have punishments on the soul: criminals are locked up. Nowadays, torture is no longer the "spectacle" for the public, the trials are. Incapacitation: "get the criminals, the bad guys, off the street". The harm principle and john stewart mill: the state should not punish conduct that does not cause harm. It causes harm to animals, but not to humans. So the moral theory of punishment is still alive and well. We no longer believe that subjective beliefs should be criminalized.