Justice versus vengeance: motives underlying punitive judgements

Retribution as Revenge and Retribution as Just Deserts

“…Finckenauer, 1988 2 ;von Hirsch, 1976) or combined in their measurement characteristics of punishment with the message that punishment seeks to communicate (De Keijser et al, 2002) and the process by which sentences are assigned (Ho et al, 2002). In our study we seek to disentangle what we understand as the core components of each retributive perspective (get even/suffer; compensation/proportionality) from the symbolic message punishment should communicate to society (symbolic motives of punishment) and the characteristics of the sentencing process (harshness of punishment and sentencing decisions).…”

Retribution as Revenge and Retribution as Just Deserts

“…By paying a debt, positive and negative experiences are distributed and social balance is restored (Weiner et al, 1997). Crucially, in retribution as just deserts both the process to allocate punishment and the severity of the sentence need to be fair (Ho et al, 2002). In retribution as revenge, on the other hand, people want to punish not just to get even (to restore balance) but also to retaliate.…”

“…Finckenauer (1988) argues that, in retribution as revenge, it is society that evens the score with the offender and not the offender who compensates for the wrong done. Vengeance involves the emotional pleasure of seeing the offender suffer (Nozick in Banks, 2008;Ho et al, 2002;Weiner et al, 1997); the seriousness of the offence does not necessarily limit the harshness of the punishment (Nozick in Banks, 2008; see also Stuckless & Goranson, 1992); and balance is restored even if the suffering inflicted by punishment exceeds the severity of the crime.…”

“…Similarly McKee and Feather (2008) distinguish between a legitimate desire for retributive punishment and personal revenge, finding that vengeance attitudes are positively related to retribution and incapacitation and negatively to the goal of rehabilitation. Finally Ho et al (2002) highlight as main aspects of vengeance the role of emotions and the intensity of the response, while justice is measured as preferences for a fair and legal response.…”

“…Von Hirsch (1976) first proposed the need to distinguish between both dimensions, but provided no evidence on whether they are indeed empirically different. Other studies have distinguished between a vengeful deservingness perspective and a more constructive moral or justice restoration motive (De Keijser, Van Der Leeden, & Jackson, 2002;Ho, ForsterLee, ForsterLee, & Crofts, 2002;McKee & Feather, 2008), but have combined in their measurements items on the goals of punishment with the sentencing process (Ho et al, 2002) and the message that punishment seeks to communicate (De Keijser et al, 2002).…”