Reason for Emotion: Reinventing Justice With Theories, Innovations, and Research-The American Society of Criminology 2002 Presidential Address

Source: (2003) Criminology. 41(1): 7-37.

As Lawrence Sherman observes, for three hundred years criminology has tried to make reason rather than emotion the primary method of justice. The results though have only been modestly successful because of a paradox. Namely, societies assume that crime is a rational choice of rational actors while they devise and apply punishments to express public emotions about crime. Criminology since the Enlightenment has promised to reverse this: to use reason for emotion, rather than emotion against alleged reason. In this context, Sherman remarks that a new window of opportunity is opening for criminology to reinvent justice. There is widespread dissatisfaction with current practices and their costs. It is time for a new paradigm of justice. The new paradigm can be termed emotionally intelligent justice. It would address the interplay between the rational and the emotional by recognizing and managing the effects of emotions in causing the behavior of both offenders and officials.