Retribution

• Retribution is a major aim of punishment:

  • Based on the idea that the offender deserves a punishment
  • The punishment can be seen as a display of public revulsion for the offence
  • Contains an element of revenge, in that society and the victim are being avenged for the wrong done. For instance, the death penalty can be seen to fulfil the biblical expression of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life"
  • Provides a compensation measure of justice to someone who has committed murder
• • Does not seek to alter future behaviour, merely to inflict punishment in proportion to the offence.
  • Provides an appropriate punishment to provide justice for both the defendant and the victim.
  • Can be expressed as a defendant getting their "just desserts", which defines justice in terms of fairness and proportionality.
  • Supported by the Sentencing Council, which provides guidelines for the courts of the range of appropriate punishments that are available.
• According to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, a court must follow guidelines unless it is against the interest of justices to do so.