Criminal Law and the Retributive Idea of Deserved Punishment

Abstract This chapter provides a detailed account of what the criminal law is. Section 5.1 starts with the core functions of criminal law: conveying blame for public wrongdoing through censure and punishment, and achieving reconciliation between wrongdoer and the broader political community. Section 5.2 connects those functions to the provision of security through targeted liberty restrictions. Section 5.3 explores how to measure culpable wrongdoing. Section 5.4 considers what it means to deserve censure and punishment. And Section 5.5 explores the idea of public wrongdoing through the legality constraint, the nature of public wrongdoing, and the state’s interest in public wrongdoing.