Assignments
Activities so far
As you proceeded through Module 7, you should have participated in the following online activities: poll questions.
If you have not, please make sure you go back and complete these before proceeding. Further activities for this unit are listed below.
- WEBLINK READING : "The Utilitarian Theory of Punishment"
- Poll Question: So all three drunks deserve the same punishment?
- Poll Question: Should we reject the law or reject what the man deserves?
- Poll Question: Should we uphold the life sentence or reject the law?
- Poll Question: In general, which theory of punishment do you support? A. Utilitarianism, B. Retribution, or C. a mixed view?
- Poll Question: Are we justified in punishing someone solely for deterrent effect?
- Poll Question: Are we justified in punishing someone solely for rehabilitative effect?
- Poll Question: Are we justified in punishing someone solely for retributive effect?
Discussion Question: Punishing vice?
As we have seen there have been many attempts to criminalize and punish vice. Certainly if vices are crimes, the retributionist finds just cause to punish. However, those who favor deterrence and retribution have more difficulty with vice crimes. When crimes are caused by vice, they become very difficult to deter. Can we effectively deter drug addicts, gambling addicts, or sex addicts from continuing to engage in criminal behavior to feed their vices? Further, a great many people with vices simply do not want to be cured or rehabilitated. Given this, it becomes hard to show how deterrence and rehabilitation are successful when it comes to vice-related crimes. This has not kept the states from trying to deter vice crimes. The following case involving Michigan 's attempt to deter prostitution by confiscating cars went all the way to the Supreme Court. Read the following Supreme Court case and then post an answer to the questions below.
READING : Click here to read Bennis v. Michigan
- Did the court make the right decision in this case? Why or why not?
- Is the Michigan policy a justifiable deterrent to the vice crime of prostitution?
- Should punishment policies like this one be applied to other vice-related crimes?
Post your answers to the Module 7 Discussion Forum.