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Pros And Cons Of Beccaria

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Beccaria is credited with being a classicist. In criminological throry, the classsical position is that people have free will and are rational. Criminals commit crimes, classical criminologists say, because they make rational decisions based on the potential risks and rewards. In other words, offenders – like nonoffenders – exercise their free will. However, a careful reading of “On Crimes and Punishments” suggests that Beccaria was not proposing a theory of carte blanche volition. Instead his is a determined will rather than a free will. Thus, his proposals for punishment were predicated on a rational and calculating human being (Beirne, 1993). This calculating man will weigh the pros and cons of commiting a criminal act and, if the punishment is swift enough and severe enough, he will desist from offending. If the benefits, however, outweigh the potential risks, he will violate the law. …show more content…

But if punishment poses a considerable risk for them, they will be dissuaded from violating the law; at that point – when people are reacting to their calculations of risks and rewards – they are no longer operating based on free

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