ABSTRACT
The Introduction gives a brief conceptual and historical background on the major theories of legal punishment, namely consequentialism, retributivism, and mixed theories. Consequentialists such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham evaluate a punishment or policy by comparing its consequences to the consequences of other options and adopting the policy that produces the best outcomes in terms of deterrence and crime reduction. Retributivists such as Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel give criminals what they deserve based on their past acts. Mixed theorists such as Paul Johann Anselm Feuerbach and H. L. A. Hart incorporate both theories in one system, often with the general justifying aim of punishment determined by consequentialist reasoning (deterrence, restraint, and rehabilitation) and the distribution of punishment determined by retributivist reasoning (desert). This book defends a mixed theory called the two-tiered model of punishment. According to the two-tiered model, the legislature enacts statutory prohibitions and corresponding penalties in order to preserve a just public order and promote the common good. The criminal judiciary determines the guilt or innocence of accused criminals and, if they are guilty, punishes them accordingly, within the statutory sentencing ranges. The Introduction concludes with brief descriptions of the book’s parts and chapters.
