ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that prison personnel’s have a right to punishment; that this right derives from a fundamental human right to be treated as a person; that this fundamental right is a natural, inalienable, and absolute right; and, that the denial of this right implies the denial of all moral rights and duties. The mock prosecutor in the tale demands the death penalty “as reward for a crime that merits admiration, astonishment, and respect.” The themes to be found in the macabre tale do not often find their way into philosophical discussions of punishment. There is a tradition, of course, not notable for its vitality, that is closely linked with motifs in Durrenmatt’s tale of crime and punishment. The clearest case in which it would be inappropriate to so regard punishment would be one in which there were explicit agreement in advance that punishment should follow on the voluntary doing of certain acts.