Rethinking Punishment

Discipline, punishment, and the moral community of schools

“…An alternative approach to school discipline has recently been advocated that seeks to improve this state of affairs, restorative justice. Restorative justice has been defined as ‘the process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offense collectively resolve to deal with the aftermath of an offense and its implications for the future’ (Canton, 2017: 153). Criminologist Howard Zehr (1990), considered one of the pioneers of this approach in the criminal justice system, urges us to see ‘crime’ as a breach of human relationships rather than an abstract injury against the state.…”

“…Assignment of responsibility emerges from the dialogue and is not assumed at the beginning. As Canton (2017), writes, ‘[T]he roles of “offender” and “victim” are not necessarily pre-determined when the attempt at conflict resolution begins and indeed deciding who was in the wrong may matter less than achieving an outcome that sufficiently commands everyone’s confidence’ (pp. 155–156).…”

Giving and getting parole: The changing characteristics of parole in England and Wales

“…We need to ask not just why we have ‘parole’, but why we have this particular system at this particular moment in time. There need be no single over-riding rationale for punishment or parole, for as Canton (2017: 201) says, ‘punishment is riven with ambivalence, and an attempt to constrict it to a single purpose will always lead to dissatisfaction because it will entail the suppression of other ambitions and emotions’. There needs to be much greater justification for keeping people in prison after they have completed the period in custody prescribed by the sentencing judge, than for releasing them early.…”

“…Today it is concerned with ‘delayed release’ (the release of indeterminate sentence prisoners after they have served the minimum term, or proportionate ‘tariff’, fixed by the sentencing court and the release of those who have been recalled to prison during the community part of their sentence). We need to ask not just why we have ‘parole’, but why we have this particular system at this particular moment in history (see Canton, 2017).…”

Probation and the philosophy of punishment

“…Most texts in the philosophy of punishment explore ‘the justification of punishment’ (Canton, 2017). Punishment needs to be justified because it involves treating people in ways that would not in other circumstances be considered permissible – taking away their liberty by locking them up, otherwise restricting their liberty (for example, by limiting their movements), making them work for nothing, requiring them to make financial payments.…”