Homework on Robinson & Darley

Homework on Robinson and Darley

The answers to all of these questions must be in your own words (don't just take sentences from the reading and replace some words with synonyms).

1. According to Robinson & Darley, does the possibility that some act will be punished by the law deter criminal behavior at all (yes or no)? What, according to them, does not deter criminal behavior in general (1 sentence)?

2. Robinson & Darley say that deterrence requires that people know about a punishment. They also argue that people often do not know about particular punishments.
a. Give one piece of evidence that they cite to support the claim that people do not know about particular punishments. (1-2 sentences)
b. Does the evidence you just gave show that people do not know that the act in question is punishable at all (yes or no)? If not, what does it show (1 sentence)?

3. Robinson & Darley also argue that deterrence requires that, when people know about the law, they are able to properly use their knowledge about punishment to make decisions. Give one piece of evidence that they cite that suggests that criminals often cannot properly make good decisions, even when they know about the law (1-3 sentences).

4. Robinson & Darley think that there is a third prerequisite for deterrence (beyond the two asked about in questions 2 and 3).
a. Explain that third prerequisite in your own words (1-2 sentences).
b. What's the difference between this third prerequisite and the second (from question 3) (1-2 sentences).

5. Consider a person who believed that punishment is only morally permissible when it deters some sort of bad behavior, and who accepted everything Robinson & Darley say in their paper. What would such a person think a morally acceptable criminal justice system would look like?