Showing papers on "Torture published in 1968"

Reflections on Some Theories of Punishment

Abstract: The fear of acts which disrupt social equilibrium has inspired the imposition of punishment by those who have the power to establish and enforce the desired standards of conduct. Punishment has developed from the infliction of pain in revenge to the use of science to rehabilitate, so that there is considerable disparity between what has historically been called punishmentl and the current methods of coercing conformity and dealing with oSenders. For the purpose of this Comment the term punishment, unless distinguished, will be defined as the method which society uses to enforce the desired standards of conduct and methods of dealing with the oSender after a crime has been committed. This definition includes the use of torture, imprisonment and treatment. Retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation have been called the aims or justifications for punishment. While they all involve to some extent suffering and deprivation of freedom these are primary in retribution and deterrence; the primary emphasis of rehabilitation being treatment. For retributive and deterrent purposes, the nature of the crime determines the type of punishment, while the personality of the offender determines the type of treatment meant to rehabilitate. The motives for the infliction of punishment are