SOCI 2P61 Study Guide - Final Guide: Cesare Beccaria, Cesare Lombroso, Jeremy Bentham
13 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Origin: enlightenment era (1700-1800) in reaction to brutal punishment regimes imposed by state and church. Definition of crime: legal (violation of law) Cause of crime: rationality (individual choice; irrational decisions) Nature of offender: voluntaristic (free will, self-interest, & equal capacity to reason) Core ideas: people choose to commit crime after weighing benefits & costs of action. Crime can be deterred by certain, severe, & swift punishment. Response to crime: punishment (proportionate to crime), prison (with determinate sentences), & written legal codes. Rationality: free will & conscious intent inequalities (mens rea) Hedonism: reward & punishment shape to reason choice. Decision to offend may not be irrational (but. Poor have less access to legal resources. Poor also disproportionately affected by punishment behaviour. Human rights: social contract between people & gov"t. Due process: presumption of innocence, & no punishment before guilt lawful established. Origin: followed enlightenment (1800-1900) as a reaction to the classical school; influenced by increasing popularity of science & evolutionary theory.
