ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the communicative theory of punishment may best combine features of, and intuitions supporting, backward-looking and forward-looking theories of punishment, while also going beyond the expressivist theory's limited aim of expressing the community's condemnation of crime. The communicative theory of punishment states that the punishment, including but not limited to incarceration and 'hard treatment,' is to communicate to offenders both the message that they have violated the norms of their community and the demand that they must respond to this message appropriately. The communicative theory of punishment seems to accord well with humans' punitive psychology. Relatively recent attempts to incorporate apology into restorative or reparative justice frameworks offer some practical guidance for reforms. However, these frameworks are typically presented as, and understood as, alternatives to punishment. One feature of the communicative theory of punishment is that punitive acts aim to encourage, or even force, offenders to apologize, to compensate, and to take on the work of rehabilitation.
