Preview

Beccaria's Reforms: Neoclassical Schools Vs Classical Schools

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
521 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Beccaria's Reforms: Neoclassical Schools Vs Classical Schools
1a. The concept of Beccaria’s reforms that I find the least practical is the act of carrying out the proper punishment based on the crime committed. Therefore, suggesting punishment specified should match or be equivalent to the unethical behavior regardless of the type of offense. In addition, the act of such punishment could also be considered ethical since it considers the overall intent rather than who a person has certain relations.

1b. The concept of Beccaria’s reforms that I find the most practical is educating individuals on how the laws operate in the justice system. Having adequate knowledge of these unrestricted exposures on regulations would help as an effort to comprehend the consequences if they would occur. Consequently,
…show more content…
The difference between Neoclassical school and the traditional Classical school is that Neoclassical is a more reformed version of the Classical school. Furthermore, the reformed version allows the justice system to discipline an individual based on their offense properly. A perfect example is satisfying adequate time served equally as someone with the same offense has received. Another difference between the two schools is that the Neoclassical is the most common model used which includes all Western societies. Although neoclassical school has a higher existence in Western societies, a small percentage of the old tradition still exists. The Classical school was also predominantly practiced in the eighteenth and nineteenth century while the Neoclassical is current from the early 1900s. Lastly, justifying how someone is punished is another difference. The Classical school had known repercussions for such individuals who had previously been imprisoned and awaited another sentence for a recurring offense. A perfect example of this behavior reminds me of a family situation where my cousin was killed in a car accident. The lady who killed my cousin instantly was drinking while intoxicated; she received no sentence and was released on bail. Two weeks later, she committed the crime again for the second time. This time she awaited her sentence while in jail; unfortunately, she took her life while waiting for her sentence. Therefore, if the courts would have

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Case Of Erik Fresen

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Classical School theory had the concept of deterrence and rationality to prevent repetition of crimes (Williams III & McShane,…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Classicism and its views on crime and punishment were derived from the philosophy of Enlightenment which gained prominence across Europe in the 18th century; this in contrast to the previous legal and penal systems from the feudal and the absolutist monarchies (Young, J 1981).…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    For instance, Cesare Beccaria was a prominent influence on the process of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, influencing the construction of the rights that we see in our nation’s precious documents. Moreover, we can clearly see a huge influence of Cesare Beccaria within recent topics, such as truth in sentencing, swift punishment, and the discontinuation of the death penalty in some U.S. states. Whether Cesare Beccaria was a part of a party, publishing a work, or simply critiquing society, his ideology and influence exist after the many years it has remained solid. In conclusion, it is safe to say, Cesare Beccaria is and still will be, one of the best philosophers of the Enlightenment Period and an inspiration to our current…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beccaria, Cesare

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Around the time that Beccaria was writing Crimes and Punishments, the United States was coming together as a nation. The founding fathers were greatly influenced by Beccaria. In the Constitution and Bill of Rights, many of the rights that we, as United States citizens have include: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to public trial, right to be judged by peers, right to dismiss certain jurors, right against cruel and unusual punishments, right to speedy trial, right to examine witnesses, right to bear arms, etc. Were influenced directly from Beccaria’s writings. Our Constitution was greatly influenced by Beccaria, and many of the rights that he advocated were made part of the foundation of the United States. (“Beccaria, Cesare”)…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The "classical school" (so-called because the divergent ideas of many scholars with similar ideas during this epoch were called that by history) was a social movement that existed during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. The "classical" part of it is derived from the similarity in thinking between those scholars and early Greek philosophy (Aristotle, Plato, etc.) which also put forth the importance of free will. However, "free will" is NOT the only defining feature of something that is "classical", and in fact, there is a "neoclassical school" that is based on the idea of character (as a compromise between free will and determinism) and a rational choice school of thought which has similar but not the essential features of "classical," Rational choice is the idea that there are many more complex decision making variables in the reasoning process of offenders than the simple free will - deterrence model makes out.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The punitive model has beneficial aspects such as the severity of crime and having a strict layout of punishment, but there are a few ethical issues within this model. This model has increased incarceration rates, which has creating a safer society, nonetheless, in return it is causing issues with overcrowding and lack of funding’s. This part of the new model would incorporate the strict punishments ideas, but to an extent. This type of punishment would be directed towards individuals who were guilty of serious crimes such as domestic violence, rape, other forms of sexual offenses, murder (all degrees), attempted murder, and kidnapping. These types of crimes are much more severe and require punitive punishment due to the fact that these individuals have a slim chance of being released into society and the rehabilitation program will not benefit society.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the late eighteenth century Britain went through an Enlightenment period, which is also referred to as 'The Age of Reason' (Paine, 1794) and this is because reason was emphasised over religion, secularisation transformed society, new ways of thinking were introduced which influenced the 'Classicalism' theory. This approach was first developed by the Italian scholar Cesare Beccaria, who argued that it is very natural for humans to engage in deviant and criminal thoughts, and it is then an individuals choice whether they want to pursue these deviant thoughts, as “man [is] a rational calculating animal” (Bentham, 1749) when it comes to crime. For instance if the potential gains and pleasure from illegal acts outweigh the potential pains of punishment the crime will be committed. It is through rational thoughts and free-will whether an individual chooses to fulfil illegal activities. Beccaria had a simple conclusion, which was to make the crime harder to commit, and this had several elements to it. Firstly, crime can be controlled by the fear of punishment, thus crime that is perceived to be severe and certain will deter criminal behaviour (Siegal, 2010) therefore crimes should be harder to commit and the punishment should fit the crime.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Historical theories of punishment were based on the concept that applying fearful consequences to criminals would discourage any potential offenders. During the late 1700’s, a criminologist by the name of Cesar Beccaria argued the fact that the death penalty served no purpose as a form of punishment, let alone as a deterrence to criminals. He advocated to reform the criminal justice system through penology, concerning specifically with punishment and deterrence (Beccaria, 2009). In the following essay, Beccaria’s theory of punishment will be thoroughly…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy Of Sentencing

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This paper is written in an attempt to comprehend the sentencing philosophy and purpose of criminal punishment through a review of the historical parameters concerning how sentencing and punishment serve society. Sentencing is the application of justice and the end result of a criminal conviction which is applied by the convening authority; followed by the sentence, or judgement of the court on a convicted offender. What makes punishment unique to our society is the application of our moral or ethical beliefs as a whole, and by the population at large. Throughout history, the sentencing and administration of punishments have been swift, brutal and often times ending with the death of the offender, but in our more civilized and modern society,…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Classical Era Punishment

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cesare Beccaria was the author of On Crimes and Punishments. His essay was about condemning torture and the capital punishment and reformation. His essay would later be used as a guide for constructing the Bill of Rights and the U.S Constitution. He had a social contract view of society in which everyone agreed that the Lawmaker was the sovereign power who alone represented the will of all the people. He believed an effective punishment should be swift, certain, impartial, universal, and proportionate to the crime. Deterrence depends upon learning on associating cause and effect. The sooner the punishment follows on the crime, the stronger the association in the mind of the criminal. When judges stray from the punishment set…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Classical approach is an approach to the organization that doesn’t account the individual needs of its employees, doesn’t give any financial reward, and no social interaction. It deals with very little communication and focuses more on how division of work and labor. Classical theory approach assumes that the organizational members are the tools of the management and as tools they are part of the organization’s system and is expected to perform accordingly to their function.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mandatory minimum sentences plant a generalization on crime that fails to account for the context in which the crime is committed. If there are not interpretation and adjudical of a crime in its entirety, mandatory minimum sentences have imposed harsher punishment to individuals who do not deserve it. Nevertheless, mandatory minimum sentences ultimately go on to satisfy Beccaria’s views on punishment because it allows the punishment to be certain and…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Law Reform Essay Year 11

    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Law reform is the process by which the law is adapted and shaped over time to better reflect the social values that society feels are important. The law cannot stand still. A key function of the legal system is to respond to changing values and apprehensions within society, resolve issues as they develop, overcome problems that occur in legal cases or events, support equality and respond to scientific or technological developments. Law reform is crucial if the law is to remain significant to a changing society. There are a few conditions that give rise to law reform, these include, changing social values, changing composition of society, new concepts of justice, failure of existing law, international law and new technology. Agencies and mechanisms of law reform also assess the effectiveness of law reform.…

    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crime and Process Model

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Court reform is a topic of constant conversation in legal circles. Do a search on the topic by going to Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com. Then, under Search, type the phrase court reform. Is court reform needed to protect the values of the crime control model or the values of the due process model?”…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Legal Sentencing Procedure

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages

    One of the most important stages in achieving justice for the offender, victim and society is known as sentencing and punishment. It is always difficult to find the balance between the offender, victim and society so that equality and natural justice can be achieved. Three areas where this can be seen are in the purpose of punishment, factors affecting a sentencing decision and types of penalties. Protection of society and the rights of the individual will be clearly seen and discussed in the essay…

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays