Theories Of Sentencing

The fifth most common rationale for sentencing is retribution, one of the oldest theories of punishment. In contrast to the aforementioned sentencing goals of deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation, the goal of retribution stems from a moral philosophy, one that is linked in a calculated manner to the offender’s moral culpability and mens rea. Therefore, this theory holds that punishment is the morally appropriate requirement to ensure that an offender repays their debt owed to society. The understanding of this objective is that if you made someone suffer, then you shall suffer as well, however, the punishment may be more severe than the actual crime. However, the unfortunate reality as Cayley exemplifies is that, “society defends prisons as a means through which offenders can “pay their debt to society”, however, not only does society compensate the costs for their imprisonment, but ex-prisoners are never really discharged of their debt, as they bear the ineradicable stigma of having been inside.” Thus, according to retributive philosophy, the benefits an individual obtains by committing a crime must be …show more content…
This objective seeks to establish the original position the victim and community were in prior to when the offence was committed. According to Thomas Aquinas: “restitution restores an equality to the relationship between two private individuals by returning some good to the person from whom that good (or some other good of equal value) was take. It presupposes that what rightfully belongs to one person in the possession of another bound by justice to restore it.” Restitution or victim compensation can also, arguably, fall under retribution. According to s.738 of the Criminal Code, restitution orders may be: (i) “stand alone” orders imposed as an additional sentence, or (ii) a condition of probation; or (iii) as a condition of a conditional