Subjects:

Criminal Law

Contents:

1 Introduction: The Scope of this Book

2 The Justification for Punishment's Existence: Censure and Prevention

3 Proportionate Sentences for Juvenile Offenders

4 Extending Sentences for Dangerous Offenders? The Bottoms-Brownsword Model

5 Proportionate Punishment and Social Deprivation

6 Proportionality and Punitiveness?

7 Proportionality and the 'Penance' Perspective

8 with Clifford Shearing: Restorative Justice: A 'Making Amends' Model?

9 Criteria for Proportionality: A Review

Appendix
1. Equity Factors in Sentencing

Appendix
2. Limiting Retributivism and 'Modified' Desert

Gauging Crime Seriousness: A 'Living-Standard' Conception of Criminal Harm

• Re-examines the concept of giving criminal their 'just deserts'
• Explores the relevance of restorative justice to proportionality theory
• Considers its applicability to the cases of dangerous, socially deprived, or juvenile offenders

The principle that a sentence should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence remains at the centre of penal practice and scholarly debate. This volume explores highly topical aspects of proportionality theory that require examination and further analysis. von Hirsch and Ashworth explore the relevance of the principle of proportionality to the sentencing of young offenders, the possible reasons for departing from the principle when sentencing dangerous offenders, and the application of the principle to socially deprived offenders.

They examine the claim that the principle tends to be associated with greater severity in sentencing, and explore the relevance of penance and of restorative justice to proportionality theory. Their examination of arguments and counter-arguments culminates in a re-statement of the main criteria for proportionate sentencing.

The authors are well known for their previous writings on proportionality theory, and this volume broadens the theory to deal with important contemporary issues in crime and punishment.