Rights Forfeiture and Punishment

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Rights Forfeiture and Punishment by Christopher Heath Wellman, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christopher Heath Wellman ISBN: 9780190676438
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: July 3, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Christopher Heath Wellman
ISBN: 9780190676438
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: July 3, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Given that persons typically have a right not to be subjected to the hard treatment of punishment, it would seem natural to conclude that the permissibility of punishment is centrally a question of rights. Despite this, the vast majority of theorists working on punishment focus instead on important aims, such as achieving retributive justice, deterring crime, restoring victims, or expressing society's core values. Wellman contends that these aims may well explain why we should want a properly constructed system of punishment, but none shows why it would be permissible to institute one. Only a rights-based analysis will suffice, because the type of justification we seek for punishment must demonstrate that punishment is permissible, and it would be permissible only if it violated no one's rights. On Wellman's view, punishment is permissible just in case the wrongdoer has forfeited her right against punishment by culpably violating (or at least attempting to violate) the rights of others. After defending rights forfeiture theory against the standard objections, Wellman explains this theory's implications for a number of core issues in criminal law, including the authority of the state, international criminal law, the proper scope of the criminal law and the tort/crime distinction, procedural rights, and the justification of mala prohibita.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Given that persons typically have a right not to be subjected to the hard treatment of punishment, it would seem natural to conclude that the permissibility of punishment is centrally a question of rights. Despite this, the vast majority of theorists working on punishment focus instead on important aims, such as achieving retributive justice, deterring crime, restoring victims, or expressing society's core values. Wellman contends that these aims may well explain why we should want a properly constructed system of punishment, but none shows why it would be permissible to institute one. Only a rights-based analysis will suffice, because the type of justification we seek for punishment must demonstrate that punishment is permissible, and it would be permissible only if it violated no one's rights. On Wellman's view, punishment is permissible just in case the wrongdoer has forfeited her right against punishment by culpably violating (or at least attempting to violate) the rights of others. After defending rights forfeiture theory against the standard objections, Wellman explains this theory's implications for a number of core issues in criminal law, including the authority of the state, international criminal law, the proper scope of the criminal law and the tort/crime distinction, procedural rights, and the justification of mala prohibita.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Talking 'Bout Your Mama by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Into The Silent Land : A Guide To The Christian Practice Of Contemplation by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book The Arab Uprisings:What Everyone Needs to Know by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Better PowerPoint (R) : Quick Fixes Based On How Your Audience Thinks by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book A Visitation of God by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Demosthenes: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Taking the Long View by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book In the Process of Becoming by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Henry Clay by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book William Faulkner at Twentieth Century-Fox by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Listen, We Need to Talk by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Braddock's Defeat by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book George Berkeley: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book Economic Elites, Crises, and Democracy by Christopher Heath Wellman
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions by Christopher Heath Wellman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy