Is It Morally Legitimate to Punish the Late Stage Demented for Their Past Crimes

Bibliographic Data

ID21700964
AuthorsOliver Hallich (0000-0003-1080-4224, University of Duisburg-Essen, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume25
Issue3
Pages361-383
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1382-4554 • E-ISSN: 1572-8609
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10892-020-09348-w
OpenAlexW3131653067
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

Are we justified in keeping the demented in prison for crimes they committed when they were still healthy? The answer to this question is an issue of considerable practical importance. The problem arises in cases where very aged criminals exhibit symptoms of dementia while serving their sentence. In these cases, one may wonder whether lodging these criminals in penal institutions rather than in normal caretaking facilities is justifiable. In this paper, I argue that there are justificatory reasons for punishing the demented for their past crimes. In part 2, I examine three theories of punishment—retributivism, prevention theories and expressivism—with regard to the question of whether they provide justificatory reasons for punishing the demented. I argue that only expressivism provides these reasons. In part 3, I defend the view that expressivism, though not convincing as a general theory of punishment, is plausible if applied only to a specific subclass of punitive actions. More precisely, expressivism, or so I argue, is plausible with regard to those acts of punishment that consist in intending to inflict suffering without actually inflicting suffering. Since the punishment of demented patients falls within this class, it can be justified on an expressivist basis. In part 4, I discuss six objections to my view and rebut them

Criminology · Economic Justice · Epistemology · Expressivism · Law and economics · Political science · Retributive justice · Sentence · Sociology · Wonder · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Free Will and Agency · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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