Consequential punishment judges actions by consequences and is more relativistic. Deontological punishment judges actions in absolute terms and is more deterministic. A deontological stance says, “absolute evil calls for absolute punishment.” (Guinness, 2005) In advocating for a certain view of punishment is helpful to consider if the punishment model applies equally to stealing, robbery, DUI’s, child abuse, rape, or murder? I ask, “Are there any circumstances where capital punishment is appropriate?” At this stage in my life, I don’t have an answer to this death penalty question. What punishment perspective do I lean towards supporting? Actually, for me it isn’t so much about the view of punishment as it is about the person. I identify individuals who say yes to change as fitting into a Consequential Punishment Model. Painfully there are those die-hard individuals who will never change their antisocial ways, and I suggest that they probably fit into a Deontological Punishment Model.
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