Huff Chapter 1

  • supernatural explanations for crime
    • criminals were under the control of evil spirits
    • solution:
    • exorcize the demon
    • exile / execute the criminal
    • fate of the criminal was up to what the gods wanted
  • rationalism and free will
    • man was seen as having free will
    • Cesare Beccaria
    • motivation behind every human action is the search for happiness
    • crime is an injury to society
    • prevention of crime is more important than punishment for crime
    • accused criminals should be treated fairly throughout the trial process
    • Jeremy Bentham
    • man pursues pleasure and tries to avoid pain
    • criminal penalties should prescribe punishment to offset potential gains of criminal behavior
    • favored restitution over physical punishment
    • idealized version of justice - too impersonal and rigid
    • neoclassical period modifications considered individual differences (age, mental status, etc)
  • Determinism
    • Cesare Lombroso
    • criminals bear bodily stigma that distinguishes them
    • criminals aren’t fully evolved
    • also accepted environmental factors as causes of crime
    • Enrico Ferri
    • classifies criminals as insane and drawn to criminality as a result of passion
    • Raffaele Garofalo
    • perceived some criminals as psychological degenerates who were morally unfit
    • criminal must be eliminated because he hasn’t adapted to civilized life
      • death
      • partial elimination: long-term imprisonment
      • enforced reparations
  • Other explanations of crime
    • physical-biological theories
    • psychopathy
    • economic factors
    • sociological explanations
  • The New Emphasis: “The System”
    • society’s focus has shifted from the criminal with the emergence of “radical” crim in the US
    • emphasis on social and political systems as factors to help generate the crime problem
    • criminal is viewed as the victim
      • class struggle
      • racial discrimination
      • other manifestations of inequality