Theories of Punishment

Theories of Punishment
INTRODUCTION
Manu and Chanakya maintained that punishment is the basis of the state. Where
there is no punishment, thieves and dacoits rule supreme there. In his well known
book “Arthashastra”, Acharya Chanakya explains that if the king awards heavier
punishment than justified, people rise in revolt against him and if the king is more
lenient than wanted, he is despised by the people and people do not bother about
him but if the king awards punishment according to the criminal law to impart
justice, he is respected and revered by the people.
So law breakers are convicted, tried and punished in the state. If this is not done,
the strong will exploit the weak and people will follow the maxim, “might is right”.
Peace, law and order are maintained in the state only because of punishment.
In the absence of punishment, there will be chaos, confusion and disorder in the
state and the weak will be exploited and victimized by the strong. Process of
punishment is essential for the smooth running of society.
A Punishment is a consequence of an offense. Punishments are imposed on the wrong doers with the object to
deter them to repeat the same wrong doing and reform them into law- abiding citizens. The kind of punishment
to be imposed on the criminal depends or is influenced by the kind of society one lives in. The aim of the
different theories of punishments is to transform the law-breakers into law-abiders.
THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT –
The different theories of Punishment are as follows –
 Deterrent Theory
 Retributive Theory
 Preventive Theory
 Reformative Theory
 Expiatory Theory
A) DETERRENT THEORY-
The term “Deter” means to abstain from doing an act. The main purpose of this theory is to
deter (prevent) the criminals from doing the crime or repeating the same crime in future. Under
this theory, severe punishments are inflicted upon the offender so that he abstains from
committing a crime in future and it would also be a lesson to the other members of the society,
as to what can be the consequences of committing a crime. This theory has proved effective,
even though it has certain defects.
Can fear discourage crime? There has been much debate over whether deterrence works.
Proponents assert that punishment deters if it is administered with swiftness, certainty, and
severity.
General deterrence uses the person sentenced for a crime as an example to induce the public
to refrain from criminal conduct, while specific deterrence punishes an offender to dissuade
that offender from committing crimes in the future. Critics point to the high recidivism (relapse
into crime) rates of persons sentenced to prison as evidence of the lack of effectiveness of
specific deterrence. Critics also note that there are limits to the impact of general deterrence.
Some crimes, such as crimes of passion and crimes committed while under the influence of
drugs, can't be deterred because their perpetrators don't rationally weigh the benefits versus
the costs (which include punishment) before breaking the law. Finally, research evidence
suggests that the deterrent effect of punishment is weak.
B) RETRIBUTIVE THEORY-
This theory of punishment is based on the principle- “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Retribute
means to give in turn. The object of this theory is to make the criminal realize the suffering of the pain by
subjecting him to the same kind of pain as he had inflicted on the victim. This theory aims at taking a
revenge rather than social welfare and transformation. This theory has not been supported by the
Criminologists, Penologists and Sociologists as they feel that this theory is brutal and babric.
“Let the punishment fit the crime” captures the essence of retribution. Proponents
advocate just deserts, which defines justice in terms of fairness and proportionality.
Retributivists aim to dispense punishment according to an offender's moral
blameworthiness (as measured by the severity of crimes of which the offender was
convicted). Ideally, the harshness of punishments should be proportionate to the
seriousness of crimes. In reality, it is difficult to match punishments and crimes, since
there is no way to objectively calibrate the moral depravity of particular crimes and/or the
painfulness of specific punishments. Retribution is a backward‐looking theory of
punishment. It looks to the past to determine what to do in the present.
C) PREVENTIVE THEORY –
This theory too aims to prevent the crime rather than avenging it. As per this theory, the idea is to keep the
offender away from the society. This criminal under this theory is punished with death, life imprisonment
etc. This theory has been criticized by some jurists.
D) REFORMATIVE THEORY –
This theory is the most humane of all the theories which aims to reform the legal offenders by individual
treatment. The idea behind this theory is that no one is a born Criminal and criminals are also humans.
Under this theory, it is believed that if the criminals are trained and educated, they can be transformed into
law abiding citizens. This theory has been proved to be successful and accepted by many jurists.
E) EXPIATORY THEORY –
Under this theory, it is believed that if the offender expiates or repents and realizes his mistake, he must be
forgiven.
Is the State empowered to give punishment?

The state is quite empowered to give punishment because the state is sovereign.
The state frames laws in order to maintain peace, law and order in the state. The
state punishes law-breakers. If the state fails to punish the law-breakers, there
will be no law and order and no peace in society.
Evils and crimes will be given impetus and thieves, dacoits, robbers and bandits
will rule supreme. Being afraid of punishment, thieves, robbers, bandits and
dacoits hesitate to commit crimes. In the absence of punishment, the big fish will
swallow the small fish and the weak will be exploited by the strong. Only
punishment ensures the security of individual liberty.

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Theories of Punishment

The different theories of Punishment are as follows –

Is the State empowered to give punishment?

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