Punishment: A Comparative Historical Perspective

by Terance D. Miethe , Hong Lu

• ISBN13: 9780521844079
• ISBN10: 052184407X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Punishment is the common response to crime and deviance in all societies. However, its particular form and purpose are also linked to specific features of the structure of these societies at a particular time and place. Through a comparative historical analysis of punishment, this book is designed to identify and examine the sources of similarity and differences in types of economic punishments, incapacitation devices and structures, and lethal and non-lethal forms of corporal punishment over time and place. We will look closely at punishment responses to crime and deviance across different regions of the world and in specific countries like the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that the reader will gain an appreciation for both the universal and context-specific nature of punishment and its use for purposes of social control, social change, and the elimination of threat to the prevailing authorities.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Preface and Acknowledgments	xi
1 Introduction: The Punishment Response	1	(14)
Punishment and Types of Sanctions	2	(2)
The Functions of Punishment	4	(2)
The Nature of Punishment and Societal Complexity	6	(2)
Effectiveness of Criminal and Civil Sanctions	8	(1)
Disparities in Criminal and Civil Sanctions	9	(1)
The Value of a Comparative Historical Approach	10	(1)
The Current Approach	11	(3)
Suggested Readings	14	(1)
2 Punishment Philosophies and Types of Sanctions	15	(35)
Philosophies of Punishment	15	(9)
Retribution	15	(2)
Incapacitation	17	(3)
Deterrence	20	(2)
Rehabilitation	22	(1)
Restoration	23	(1)
Types of Formal and Informal Sanctions	24	(20)
Economic Sanctions	25	(5)
Monetary Fines,	25	(1)
Financial Sanctions in Civil Litigation,	26	(1)
Other Economic Sanctions,	27	(3)
Incapacitative Sanctions	30	(3)
Banishment and Exile,	30	(1)
Incapacitative Devices,	31	(1)
Incapacitative Structures,	32	(1)
Other Types of Incapacitation,	33	(1)
Corporal Punishment	33	(25)
Flogging,	34	(1)
Branding,	35	(1)
Mutilations,	36	(1)
Capital Punishment,	37	(7)
Summary	44	(5)
Suggested Readings	49	(1)
3 Contemporary Punishments in Comparative Perspective	50	(32)
Basic Problems in Comparative Studies	50	(3)
Economic Sanctions	53	(2)
Incapacitative Sanctions	55	(3)
Corporal Punishment	58	(17)
Geographical Differences in Capital Punishment	58	(15)
The Middle East,	63	(1)
Caribbean Countries,	64	(1)
Asian Countries,	65	(4)
Africa,	69	(1)
North America,	70	(1)
Central America,	71	(1)
South America,	72	(1)
Europe,	72	(1)
Oceania,	73	(1)
Level of Economic Development	73	(1)
State-Sponsored Violence and Civil Unrest	74	(1)
Summary	75	(5)
Suggested Readings	80	(2)
4 Punishment in American History	82	(33)
Overview of Structural Features	82	(3)
Historical Context for Sanctions	85	(21)
Colonial America	85	(9)
Economic Punishment,	88	(2)
Incapacitative Sanctions,	90	(1)
Corporal Punishment in Colonial Times,	91	(3)
Statehood, Slavery, and the Western Frontier	94	(6)
Capital Punishment,	96	(1)
Lynchings in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,	97	(2)
Social Control on the American Frontier,	99	(1)
Twentieth-Century Practices	100	(6)
Economic Sanctions,	101	(1)
Incapacitative Sanctions,	102	(2)
Corporal Punishment,	104	(2)
Comparative Analysis with Other Western Societies	106	(3)
Similarities with Western European Traditions	106	(1)
Differences with Western European Practices	107	(2)
Summary	109	(5)
Suggested Readings	114	(1)
5 The History of Punishment in China	115	(40)
Overview of Structural Features	116	(2)
Historical Context for Sanctions	118	(25)
The Feudal Tradition up to the Late Qing Dynasty	118	(10)
Economic Punishment,	121	(2)
Incapacitative Punishment,	123	(1)
Corporal Punishment,	124	(4)
Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century (1840's to the 1940's)	128	(5)
Economic Sanctions,	130	(1)
Corporal Punishment,	130	(2)
Incapacitative Punishment,	132	(1)
Socialist China from 1949 to the Twenty-first Century	133	(25)
Economic Sanctions,	135	(3)
Incapacitative Sanctions,	138	(3)
Corporal Punishment,	141	(2)
Comparative Analysis with Other Asian and Socialist Societies	143	(2)
Summary	145	(8)
Suggested Readings	153	(2)
6 Punishment Under Islamic Law	155	(39)
Overview of Islamic Faith and Law	155	(3)
Historical Development of Islam and Islamic Law	158	(5)
The Early History of Islam	158	(2)
Islamic Rule and Law, 632 A.D. to the Mid-twentieth Century	160	(2)
The Resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Twentieth Century	162	(1)
Social Control in Islamic Societies	163	(13)
Punishments Under Islamic Law: Their Purpose and Nature	164	(10)
Hudud Offenses,	165	(6)
Qesas Offenses,	171	(1)
Ta'azir Offenses,	172	(2)
Procedural Rules and Evidentiary Requirements	174	(1)
Other Control Mechanisms and Sanctioning Bodies	175	(1)
Saudi Arabia	176	(9)
Crime Trends in Saudi Arabia and Other Islamic Countries	178	(2)
Criminal Punishments in Saudi Arabia and Other Islamic Countries	180	(14)
Corporal Sanctions,	180	(3)
Incapacitative and Economic Sanctions,	183	(2)
Summary	185	(8)
Suggested Readings	193	(1)
7 Issues in the Sociology of Punishments	194	(23)
Theories of Law and Society	194	(5)
Consensus and Conflict Views of Social Order	195	(2)
Legal Evolution and Societal Complexity	197	(2)
The Effectiveness of State-Sponsored Punishments	199	(7)
Social Engineering	199	(1)
Punishment and Minority Group Threat	200	(4)
The Deterrent Value of Punishment	204	(2)
Socioeconomic Disparities and Punishment	206	(2)
Cultural Values and Perceptions of "Evil" Societies	208	(2)
Universal and Context-Specific Patterns	210	(2)
Summary and Conclusions	212	(5)
References	217	(14)
Author Index	231	(4)
Subject Index	235