Overview

It is generally assumed that we are justified in punishing criminals because they have committed a morally wrongful act. Determining when criminal liability should be imposed calls for a moral assessment of the conduct in question, with criminal liability tracking as closely as possible the contours of morality. Versions of this view are frequently argued for in philosophical accounts of crime and punishment, and seem to be presumed by lawyers and policy makers working in the criminal justice system.Challenging such assumptions, this book considers the dominant justifications of punishment and subjects them to a piercing moral critique. It argues that none overcome the objection that people who are convicted of a serious crime and sent to prison have their basic human rights violated. The institution of criminal punishment is shown to be a regrettable necessity not deserving of the moral enthusiasm it enjoys among many politicians and the popular press. From a moral point of view, punishment is entitled at best to grudging toleration.In the course of developing the argument, the book introduces the principal issues of criminal law theory with the aim of presenting a morally enlightened perspective on crimes and why we punish them. Enforcement of the law by police, prosecutors, and courts is a matter of concern for political morality, and the principal practices of the criminal justice system are subjected to moral scrutiny. The book presents an original, engaging, and provocative approach to the philosophy of crime and punishment, challenging not only students, but a wide range of other readers to rethink the fascinating and troubling questions at the foundations of crime and punishment.

Full Product Details

Author:   Hyman Gross (sometime Arthur Goodhart Professor of Legal Science and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.70cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.358kg
ISBN:  

9780198738091

ISBN 10:   0198738099
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   19 February 2015
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Preface Introduction 1: Crime and Impunity 2: Sufficiently Good Reason 3: Taking Human Rights Seriously 4: Crimes as Pretexts for Improvement 5: Crimes as Demands for a Remedy 6: Punishment and Injustice 7: Crime, Harm, and Moral Wrong 8: Criminal Conduct and Its Culpability 9: More About Culpability 10: Psychoculpability 11: Persons and Choices 12: Consoling Fictions 13: Guilt and Convictability 14: The Decline of Punishment Postscript: Reconceiving Response to Crime Notes Some Further References

Reviews

...his arguments are thought-provoking and worthwhile. Eric A. Johnson, Notre Dame Philosophical Review

Author Information

Hyman Gross is the sometime Arthur Goodhart Professor of Legal Science and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

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