Explain Andrew Von Hirsch's theory of “just deserts" and how it was received, as well as flaws in the theory.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

British criminologist Andrew Von Hirsch attempted to resurrect the Enlightenment tradition of limiting retributive justice through the concept of "just deserts." He believed that excessive punishment undercuts the legitimacy of the sentencing system. He further argued that other penal philosophies, such as rehabilitation, actually pose serious dangers to human liberty. Von Hirsch imagined a precise, even mathematical calculation of the right penalty based on an objective analysis of the harm caused by the offender to the victim or the community in general. This theory of sentencing received strong acceptance in jurisprudential and criminological circles and was also expressed by others as the philosophic foundation of the movement toward determinate or fixed penalties in sentencing. Just deserts appeared as a potential antidote to unchecked state power. Von Hirsch did concede that a potential problem in his theory of punishment was in actually establishing the "anchor point" to ground a whole system of penalties. Without a sound foundation, the scale of the system of punishment was easily corrupted. As the criminal justice policy developments of the 1980s and 1990s unfolded, this "fatal flaw" in just deserts theory was revealed as policymakers competed to show how tough they could be on crime. Penalties escalated throughout this period, driven by the political rhetoric of retributive justice and resulting in the largest incarcerated population on earth.