One of the ambitions of this Blog is to encourage more considered reflection about how we talk about punishment – in politics, in classrooms, in homes, with friends. How we talk about punishment, the language that we use and the
The oddness of punishment
Punishment is entirely familiar, but we need to find a sense of how odd it is. In the name of punishment, people have been killed, maimed, tortured and locked away from others, denied almost all contact with people they love and
Zero tolerance campaigns: Why do we put up with them? (Jack Dee)
Zero tolerance is an expression of anger or dismay masquerading as a policy. It does not say anything about what is to be done, but merely invites people to feel cross. I blame Thatcher. Whatever we think about that prime
What can we reasonably expect of criminal justice?
We can reasonably expect it to be just. Countries have Ministries of Justice and Courts of Justice and refer, not to systems of crime control or punishment, but to their criminal justice system. We can also reasonably expect the agencies of criminal justice to
Welcome
Welcome to my Blog! Most of us hold strong views about the punishment of criminals. Mostly, maybe, we don’t think much about it at all, but if a dreadful crime takes place – or even not such a dreadful