Source: (2005) Criminology. 43(2):283-306.
The ideal of punishment proportionate to wrongdoing creates a
criminal justice system that deters prevention. An alternative ideal is that
crime should always be confronted with a presumption for mercy that is
conditional upon participation in a truth-seeking process that identifies
paths to prevention. Informally rewarding reconciliation and
prevention is the basis of a more compelling rational choice account of
crime control than proportionate formal punishment. A rational and
emotionally intelligent criminal justice system might look something
like the airline safety system. Author’s abstract.
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