Retribution

• Kaht - argued the primary reason for punishment is to rebalance the scales of justice - moral wrong. A retributive sentence is parallel to the intended harm of an offence; legitimate sentencing lets the punishment fit the crime; "an eye for an eye".
• When retribution is done correctly its not necessary for the punishment to make the prisoner act differently or stop future crimes: retribution is a good in itself. Each offence committed has a certain tariff - provided by the Sentencing Council's guidelines and is limited to be proportionate to the crime.
• Offences and time in prison

  • sexual offences : 47-63 years
  • robbery : 34-50 years
  • violence : 20-24 years
  • theft : 9-10 years
• The public focuses on retribution: campaigns which make offenders suffer more can be successful. Retribution links with Right Realism and rational choice theory; people are responsible and must suffer the outrage of society. Retribution links with functionalism: moral outrage performs Durkheim’s boundary maintenance function of society; everyone relearns good and bad behaviour.
• Wayne Couzens who killed Sarah Evarand got a life sentence, partly because he abused his powers as a police officer. This way, his sentence was retributive because he would be in prison for life.