Law and You > Criminal Laws > Criminal Jurisprudence > Punishment: Meaning, Characteristics and Objects
List of Sub-Topics:
- Introduction
- What is Punishment?
- Characteristics of Punishment
- Objects of Punishment
- Theories of Punishment
- Punishments Under Indian Penal Code
Crime is defined as an act that the law makes punishable and is often called an offense. Crime is a violation of the law, either divine or human, an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law. Some pain or penalty warranted by law, inflicted on a person, for the commission of a crime or misdemeanor, or for the omission of the performance of an act required by law, by the judgment and command of some lawful court. A crime is an offense against the public, while a tort, is a wrongdoing against an individual and gives rise to an action for damages. Crimes produce two kinds of injuries: Social and Personal. Social injury pertains to the State and it is repaired through the imposition of the penalty prescribed by law and Personal injury pertains to the offended party and it is repaired by indemnification which is civil in nature. In this article, we shall study the meaning of punishment, its characteristics, and provisions of different punishments in the Indian Penal Code.
Punishment:
Penology is a multi-disciplinary subject that aims to study and evaluate the application of penal sanctions to wrongdoers. It broadly explains jurisdiction, characteristics, and effectiveness of punishment in its various forms.
The term punishment is defined as, “pain, suffering, loss, confinement or other penalty inflicted on a person for an offence’ by the authority to which the offender is subjected to.” Punishment is a social custom and institutions are established to award punishment after following the criminal justice process, which insists that the offender must be guilty and the institution must have the authority to punish.
H. L. A. Heart with Mr. Bean and Prof Flew has defined punishment in terms of five elements:
- It must involve pain or other consequences normally considered unpleasant.
- It must be for an offence against legal rules
- It must be to an actual or supposed offender for his offence.
- It must be intentional, administered by human beings other than the offender.
- It must be imposed and administered by an authority constituted by a legal system against which the offence is committed.
According to Greenhut, there, three components must convince the offender that
- crime does not pay;
- after punishment, the offender must have a fair chance of a fresh start.
- the state which claims the right of punishment must uphold superior values which the (offender) can reasonably be expected to acknowledge.
Characteristics of Punishment:
It is the consequence of a specific unwanted behavior:
Punishment must follow an offence, a specific behavior, which can include violation of the law, either divine or human, an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law.
It is perceived by its recipient as aversive:
Punishment must involve pain or other consequences normally considered unpleasant. Thus the punishing stimulus must be seen by the recipient as something uncomfortable. Thus punishment can be subjective i.e. may change from person to person. What is uncomfortable for one person may be comfortable for another. For example, a punishment for a certain offence is a fine of Rs. 1000, then it may be uncomfortable for a person whose monthly income is Rs. 1000 but it may be comfortable for a millionaire. Hence provision in law should be such that the billionaire should also feel the pinch.
It is followed by a reduction of the targeted behavior, either in frequency or intensity.
The punishment should act as a psychological barrier for the offender. The punishment must result in a decrease in unwanted behavior.
It involves the delivery or removal of a stimulus as a consequence.
Punishment can be enacted by either by presenting the recipient with an aversive stimulus (e.g., fine, imprisonment, capital punishment) or by removing access to a certain stimulus (e.g. barring entry).
It involves an intrinsic or extrinsic stimulus as a consequence.
Intrinsic stimulus involves engaging in a behavior because it is personally rewarding; essentially, performing an activity for its own sake rather than the desire for some external reward. Essentially, the behavior itself is its own reward. In intrinsic punishment, intrinsic rewards obtained are unpleasant to the offender. Extrinsic stimulus occurs when a person is motivated to perform a behavior or engage in an activity to earn a reward or avoid punishment. In extrinsic punishment, the offender is barred from getting such rewards which are sought by him.
Objects of Punishment:
Bentham suggested that punishment might be useful in controlling crimes in the following ways:
- By making it impossible or difficult for a criminal to commit the offence again, at least in certain ways;
- By deserting both offenders and others;
- By providing an opportunity for the reformation of the offender.
Deterrence:
When humans decide how to act, they tend to look towards the consequences of their actions. Punishment, when factored in as a consequence, can, therefore, prevent (deter) crime. Deterrence prevents future crime by frightening the defendant or the public. Deterrence can be divided into general and specific deterrence. General deterrence applies to the public at large. It is the use of punishment to discourage others who may be so-inclined from committing any offense. Those who witness the punishment meted out to an offender will inspire a deep fear of criminal prosecution. Specific deterrence is used to prevent the offender from committing any further offense. Specific deterrence applies to an individual defendant. When the government punishes an individual defendant, he or she is theoretically less likely to commit another crime because of fear of another similar or worse punishment.
Retribution:
When victims or society discover that the defendant has been adequately punished for a crime, they achieve a certain satisfaction that our criminal procedure is working effectively, which enhances faith in law enforcement and our government. The object of retribution is derived from the old belief of an “an eye for an eye.” This objective of punishment aims to make offenders suffer for their crimes. Retribution prevents future crime by removing the desire for personal against the defendant. Capital punishment is a retributive punishment. A person who intentionally takes the life of another person is expected to pay for that offense with his own life.
Incarceration:
Incarceration as an objective of punishment seeks to remove the offender from society for the good of society. As such, a rapist is incarcerated to protect other members of society from such a person and to give the offender time to pay his debt to society.
Rehabilitation:
Rehabilitation prevents future crime by altering a defendant’s behavior. Examples of rehabilitation include educational and vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling. Thus rehabilitation seeks to reform offenders by helping them conform to the standard of society. Rehabilitative criminal justice tools are parole, probation and work release. This lightens a load of jails and prisons while lowering reoffending.
Reparation:
Reparation means that the offender must make restitution to the victim as part of the punishment and as part of the condition for reentry into society. In such a situation the offender is made to compensate the victim partly or fully by selling the offender’s property and raising funds. Reparation may be combined with incarceration or rehabilitation.
Theories of Punishment:
Different theories of punishments are as follows:
- Deterrent Theory
- Utilitarian Theory
- Preventive Theory
- Reformative Theory
- Retributive Theory
- Combinations of Different Theories
These theories will be discussed in detail in upcoming articles.
Punishments Under the Indian Penal Code:
Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code enumerates the different punishments which the courts may award to a person convicted for a crime:
- Death penalty;
- Imprisonment for life;
- Imprisonment which is of either description: rigorous or simple;
- Forfeiture of Property;
- Fine.
In respect of each of the above punishments, the courts are supposed to follow the procedure prescribed by the relevant provisions of the substantive and the adjective laws. The interpretation of the courts in refusing to inflict the relevant punishment and the opinion expressed by any agency at the international level justify a change in the system of punishments.