Deck 2: Why Do We Punish

Question 1

Deterrence is the act of discouraging future criminal acts by both the

A) offender and his/her state.
B) offender and his/her co-workers.
C) offender and others in the population.
D) offender and his/her family.

Answer 1

offender and others in the population.

Question 2

________ was an eighteenth century Italian criminologist who believed that punishment should be used only for good.

A) Cesare Beccaria
B) Jeremy Bentham
C) Thomas Towers
D) Clifford Harris

Answer 2

Cesare Beccaria

Question 3

Hanging a horse thief to ensure he doesn't steal any other horses expresses this philosophy.

A) Sanctioned deterrence.
B) Informal deterrence.
C) General deterrence.
D) Specific deterrence.

Answer 3

Specific deterrence.

Question 4

Hanging a horse thief to discourage others from stealing horses expresses this philosophy.

A) Sanctioned deterrence.
B) Informal deterrence.
C) General deterrence.
D) Specific deterrence.

Question 5

Which of the key requirements for an effective deterrence system is problematic because it is reasonably achieved only if citizens are willing to be constantly monitored?

A) Certainty.
B) Swiftness.
C) Severity.
D) Predictability.

Question 6

Which punishment philosophy relies on the core assumptions that people are rational, calculating, individuals using free will to achieve pleasure and avoid pain?

A) Deterrence.
B) Rehabilitation.
C) Retribution.
D) Restoration.

Question 7

Generally speaking, with ________ incapacitation people are sentenced to prison based on their personal characteristics, whereas under ________ incapacitation people are sentenced to prison based on characteristics of their crime.

A) technological / general
B) general / selective
C) selective / technological
D) selective / general

Question 8

Under which type of incapacitation would the policy be to reserve imprisonment for only those offenders needing to be locked away for society's protection?

A) Technological.
B) Selective.
C) Indeterminate.
D) General.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of incapacitation through technology?

A) Chemical intervention such as Antabuse for alcoholics.
B) Monitoring offender movement with the use of electronic devices.
C) Surgical castration of sex offenders.
D) All of the above are examples of incapacitation through technology.
E) None of the above is an example of incapacitation through technology.

Question 10

The observation that essentially all prisoners return to live in free society is called

A) the golden rule of criminology.
B) the iron law of imprisonment.
C) Beccaria's rule.
D) restorative justice.

Question 11

Under which incarnation of rehabilitation is criminality considered similar to an illness that can be diagnosed and treated?

A) Rehabilitation as reclamation.
B) Rehabilitation as reformation.
C) Rehabilitation as individualized treatment.
D) Rehabilitation as reentry.

Question 12

Retribution can be distinguished from revenge in each of the following ways EXCEPT

A) retribution is a form of individual retaliation for a wrong done.
B) retribution is a formal penal sanction.
C) retribution seeks equity of punishment.
D) retribution seeks just deserts for the offender.

Question 13

This concept is expressed when society treats similar crimes and similar criminals alike.

A) Equity.
B) Reciprocity.
C) Mediation.
D) Rehabilitation.

Question 14

Because this punishment philosophy does not require punishment to achieve some goal or objective, it is very difficult to argue with one of its proponents that the philosophy doesn't "work."

A) Deterrence.
B) Incapacitation.
C) Rehabilitation.
D) Retribution.

Question 15

Nigel Walker's example of how retributionists perceive proportionality is illustrated using

A) a rich man and poor man.
B) two glasses filled with different colored liquid.
C) a man and a woman.
D) two ladders intersected by a rod.

Question 16

What the offender deserves is to retribution as what the victim deserves is to

A) rehabilitation.
B) deterrence.
C) incapacitation.
D) restoration.

Question 17

The primary goal of the restorative justice philosophy is to

A) make the victim and community whole again.
B) see that offenders receive their just deserts.
C) maintain proportionality of crime and punishment.
D) guarantee due process is not lost during sentencing.

Question 18

Calling punishment "a natural response to a wrongful act" best describes

A) just deserts.
B) general incapacitation.
C) the norm of reciprocity.
D) classical criminology.

Question 19

Which program helps inmates understand the victimization facts and the plight of victims' rights and greatly improves their sensitivity levels?

A) Restoration classes.
B) Community reparation classes.
C) Victim-impact classes.
D) Behavioral modification classes.

Question 20

One criticism of restorative justice is that it can promote ________ by perpetuating existing social inequities.

A) excessive deterrence
B) unnecessary leniency
C) discrimination
D) excessive subordination

Question 21

Specific deterrence occurs when punishment is applied to an offender with the goal of discouraging others who hear about the punishment from committing a crime.

Question 22

Jeremy Bentham, who was an eighteenth-century philosopher, argued that immoral people (criminals) deserved punishment that was equally depraved, even if the punishment did not benefit the general welfare.

Question 23

One reason that deterrence effectively discourages and prevents criminal behavior is that humans have similar understandings of what is severe and what is mild punishment.

Question 24

A criminal is more likely to be deterred by seeing a police officer with handcuffs and a radio than through the passage of a new law increasing penalties.

Question 25

Selective incapacitation favors broad use of imprisonment as a way to achieve large gains in crime prevention by locking away even minor offenders.

Question 26

General incapacitation may avoid the problem of racially and ethnically biased sentencing by imposing prison sentences based on what the offender did rather than who the offender is.

Question 27

Although females also commit sex offenses, treatment responses for them rely on psychological rather than technological measures.

Question 28

Since chemical castration effectively controls feeling of anger and hatred as well as preventing erections, it is appropriate to use for all sex offenders.

Question 29

The iron law of imprisonment states that imprisonment if the preferred punishment for all violent offenders.

Question 30

Rehabilitation as a punishment philosophy has progressed through several stages, but the current version focuses less on offender treatment and more on offender reentry into the community.

Question 31

The concept of just deserts requires the offender's punishment to be as harsh as the law allows.

Question 32

The classic example of the law of retaliation is reflected in the principle of lex talionis.

Question 33

Retribution is a formal penal sanction whereas revenge is an informal sanction.

Question 34

Of the primary punishment philosophies, retribution is the one that most clearly considers the harm done to the victim when deciding an appropriate punishment for the offender.

Question 35

Victim-offender mediation is an example of how restorative justice is used in a prison setting.

Question 36

The punishment philosophy called ________ attempts to restrict the offender's freedom of movement and isolate him/her from the general population.

Question 37

The punishment philosophy called ________ provides the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him or her to be law-abiding.

Question 38

Of the key requirements for an effective deterrence system, ________ is likely to be achieved only by restricting the due process currently provided to defendants.

Question 39

When the aim of punishment is to discourage other people from committing a crime in the first place, it is said to have a(n) ________ deterrence function.

Question 40

With ________ incapacitation, imprisonment is reserved for a group of especially dangerous repeat offenders.

Question 41

Rehabilitation as ________ aimed to rescue wrongdoers from the evil that had overcome them.

Question 42

The punishment philosophy called ________ is distinguished from the other punishment philosophies in that it has no utilitarian objective such as preventing crime.

Question 43

Under the norm of ________, punishment is a natural response to a wrongful act.

Question 44

Community ________ boards exemplify the postconviction use of restorative justice wherein board members meet with the offender and victim to determine how the offender will repair the harm done and to find ways to reduce future offending.

Question 45

In victim ________ classes, violent crime survivors share their experiences with groups of offenders in hopes that their story will make a difference in offenders' lives.

Question 46

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Deterrence

A) Providing the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him/her to be law-abiding.
B) Make the victim and community whole again by returning things as much as possible to how they were before the crime occurred.
C) Isolation of the offender from the general population.
D) Discourage future criminal acts by both the offender and others.
E) Assuring the offender receives a just and adequate punishment.

Question 47

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Incapacitation

A) Providing the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him/her to be law-abiding.
B) Make the victim and community whole again by returning things as much as possible to how they were before the crime occurred.
C) Isolation of the offender from the general population.
D) Discourage future criminal acts by both the offender and others.
E) Assuring the offender receives a just and adequate punishment.

Question 48

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Rehabilitation

A) Providing the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him/her to be law-abiding.
B) Make the victim and community whole again by returning things as much as possible to how they were before the crime occurred.
C) Isolation of the offender from the general population.
D) Discourage future criminal acts by both the offender and others.
E) Assuring the offender receives a just and adequate punishment.

Question 49

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Retribution

A) Providing the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him/her to be law-abiding.
B) Make the victim and community whole again by returning things as much as possible to how they were before the crime occurred.
C) Isolation of the offender from the general population.
D) Discourage future criminal acts by both the offender and others.
E) Assuring the offender receives a just and adequate punishment.

Question 50

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Restoration

A) Providing the offender with skills, attitudes, and norms that enable him/her to be law-abiding.
B) Make the victim and community whole again by returning things as much as possible to how they were before the crime occurred.
C) Isolation of the offender from the general population.
D) Discourage future criminal acts by both the offender and others.
E) Assuring the offender receives a just and adequate punishment.

Question 51

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Specific deterrence

A) Imprisonment is acceptable and desirable on an extensive scale for a wide range of offenders as a means of crime prevention.
B) Imprisonment is reserved for those very few offenders who must truly be locked away for society's protection.
C) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage people from committing a crime in the first place.
D) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage a person from committing additional crimes.

Question 52

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-General deterrence

A) Imprisonment is acceptable and desirable on an extensive scale for a wide range of offenders as a means of crime prevention.
B) Imprisonment is reserved for those very few offenders who must truly be locked away for society's protection.
C) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage people from committing a crime in the first place.
D) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage a person from committing additional crimes.

Question 53

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-Selective incapacitation

A) Imprisonment is acceptable and desirable on an extensive scale for a wide range of offenders as a means of crime prevention.
B) Imprisonment is reserved for those very few offenders who must truly be locked away for society's protection.
C) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage people from committing a crime in the first place.
D) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage a person from committing additional crimes.

Question 54

Match the following terms with their meanings.

-General incapacitation

A) Imprisonment is acceptable and desirable on an extensive scale for a wide range of offenders as a means of crime prevention.
B) Imprisonment is reserved for those very few offenders who must truly be locked away for society's protection.
C) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage people from committing a crime in the first place.
D) Seeks to prevent crime by using punishment to discourage a person from committing additional crimes.

Question 55

Compare and contrast the five primary punishment philosophies.

Question 56

List the three key requirements for an effective deterrence system and explain why it may be difficult to achieve each element.

Question 57

Explain how retribution is distinguished from revenge.

Question 58

Describe changes that would be necessary in society to allow the conditions of certainty, severity, and swiftness to be implemented at a level where deterrence would work at its best.

Question 59

If technology can be shown to effectively incapacitate offenders (that is, make them unable to harm people or property), will society be willing to rely more on community supervision and less on prison? Why or why not?