Brooks - Punishment

Punishment

Punishment is a topic of increasing importance for citizens and policymakers. Why should we punish criminals? Which theory of punishment is most compelling? Is the death penalty ever justified? These questions and many others are addressed in this highly engaging guide.

Punishment is a critical introduction to the philosophy of punishment, offering a new and refreshing approach that will benefit readers of all backgrounds and interests. The first critical guide to examine all leading contemporary theories of punishment, this book explores among others the communicative theory of punishment, restorative justice, and the unified theory of punishment. Thom Brooks examines several case studies in detail, including capital punishment, juvenile offending, and domestic abuse. Punishment highlights the problems and prospects of different approaches in order to argue for a more pluralistic and compelling perspective that is novel and groundbreaking.

Punishment is a textbook designed to introduce both undergraduate and postgraduate students to the topic of punishment. It will be essential for undergraduate students in philosophy, criminal justice, criminology, justice studies, law, politics, and sociology.

Thom Brooks is Reader in Law at Durham University. He is the editor and founder of the Journal of Moral Philosophy.

Lucid, fair minded, and well informed, Thom Brooks Punishment offers a superb introduction to a complex and contentious subject. Many a perplexed student will find illumination in his patient discussion of each of the leading theories. The way Brooks shows their interconnectedness and application in practice to capital punishment, juvenile offenders, domestic violence, and the like will interest not only students but scholars as well.

Stuart P. Green, Distinguished Professor of Law and Nathan L. Jacobs Scholar, Rutgers School of Law

As a topic in moral and political philosophy, punishment has been jolted back to life. In the last quarter century, retribution has returned with a vengeance, both in the theoretical literature and (with a very different emphasis) in public policy. The rise of the victim as a player in the criminal justice system has also fuelled a counter-trend, placing an emphasis on redress. Human rights, privatization, globalization, the rise of the therapist, the lobbyist, the terrorist: all have affected our ways of punishing and of thinking about punishment. A new survey of the terrain is overdue. And who better to conduct it than Thom Brooks, whose grasp of the literature and feel for the issues is second to none? From the noble ideals of communicative theory to the grim realities of children in prison: in Punishment Brooks covers it all with insight, rigour, and energy.

John Gardner, Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford

Thom Brooks has produced a valuable introduction to, and critical survey of, current theoretical approaches to punishment together with an analysis of their implications for practice. In addition, he has provided a spirited defence of a new, unified theory inspired by the British Idealists and encompassing retributive, consequentialist, and restorative elements. Written in a lucid and engaging style, the book will interest a wide range of readers students, theorists of punishment, as well as those engaged in criminal justice policy.

Alan Brudner, Albert Abel Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Punishment

Thom Brooks

First published 2012

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2012 Thom Brooks

The right of Thom Brooks to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Brooks, Thom.

Punishment /Thom Brooks.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-415-43181-1 (hbk.) ISBN 978-0-415-43182-8 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-203-92942-1 (ebook) 1. Punishment Philosophy.

2. Restorative justice. 3. Capital punishment. 4. Juvenile delinquents.

5. Family violence. 6. Sex crimes. I. Title.

K5103.B76 2013

364.6 dc23

2012017736

ISBN: 978-0-415-43181-1 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-43182-8 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-92942-1 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Taylor & Francis Books

For my parents, Alan and Kathy

Preface

The literature on punishment has exploded in recent years. One of the main reasons is the increasing popularity of retributivist theories. A further significant reason is the rising popularity of several important alternative approaches, including the communicative theory of punishment, the restorative justice model, and new work on the unified theory of punishment. One aim of this book is to present a critical guide to the latest research on the leading theories of punishment and the most important alternative approaches. While there have been several excellent previous guides, these have become somewhat dated given the rapidly expanding literature in this field. It is my hope that this book will help readers become more familiar with the prospects and problems facing each approach to punishment.

The book is arranged to introduce readers to competing approaches to punishment and then to consider their application in particular contexts, such as the use of capital punishment, juvenile offending, and the punishment of domestic violence, rape, and child sex offences. Punishment is more than theory; it is about practices. It is my hope that the book's arrangement by theory and then practice will help improve the understanding of both abstract philosophical issues and how theories of punishment may fare as a practice an aspect that has often been absent in previous commentaries but which is illuminating and thought-provoking.

This book is designed to attract a wide audience. Examples are drawn that are meant to have relevance for readers from different backgrounds, and this book is neither aimed primarily at a North American nor British audience, but rather both and much more. While I am an American by birth, I am a dual national with both American and British citizenship: I have adopted the spelling and grammar of my newly adopted home, but this book's arguments and research address punishment from a wide perspective. Examples will be drawn from the US, UK, and beyond to illustrate arguments throughout.

One further important aim of this book is to speak to politicians, legal practitioners, and policymakers. Chapters will include various recommendations on criminal justice policy, and these are summarized in This book presents the most thorough explanation and defence of the unified theory of punishment to date.