Theorizing Legal Punishment

This book systematically defends an account of the institution of legal punishment that draws on both retributive and crime-prevention thinking.

The work argues that legal punishment censures convicted offenders and thus morally communicates with them, any victims, and the broader community, while also serving to reduce future crime. The expressive or retributive element is assigned the lead role in this mixed account because it better captures the notion that members of society are to be he...