What does this phrase, "being brought to justice" mean?

[Douglas Carpenter]

I understand and whole heartedly agree that there is a need to create a deterrence against the commission of certain crimes. I understand and whole heartedly agree that there are some people who pose such a danger to others that their movements must be severely restricted.

But, "being brought to justice" sounds to me like some sort of religious notion. But I have heard this phrase even from the irreligious and even avowed atheist

Aside from creating deterrence and restraining the dangerous - is there some other point to punishment that is defendable in the rational universe? Does punishment satisfy the vengeful wrath of the gods? Does it balance some invisible scale in the universe and make the human condition a bit more just?
.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

1. It sounds warmer than

"for the convenience of the system."

[winter is coming]

2. Nothing, if you're rich. n/t

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. I'm wondering what the term means at all -

[Laelth]

3. We had to study this in law school.

There are four, primary goals of the criminal law. They are:

1) deterrence (as you mentioned in the OP)
2) vengeance (the euphemism for this is "closure" for the family of the victim, but realize that this is and always has been a primary goal of criminal law)
3) reformation (the idea that a criminal can be "reformed" in the prison system and transformed into a productive member of society--we don't really believe this in the U.S. any longer, but countries like Norway do, and they have had remarkable success in actually reforming people who have been convicted of crimes)
4) segregation (separate the criminal from society so that said criminal can no longer harm law-abiding members of said society)

Theoretically, that's what the criminal law is supposed to do. Hope that helps.

-Laelth

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. Yes, I suspect reformation could be a goal but seldom is in the U.S. I would suspect as you suggest

that revenge is the primary goal of crime and punishment in the U.S. So the phrase, "being brought to justice" is usually a particular linguistic spin on revenge.

[Laelth]

13. For many (but not all) Americans, yes.

Vengeance (or, as I mentioned above, "closure&quot is what many Americans see as the primary goal of the criminal law. For better or for worse, public executions have always been popular. What makes us think we're so much better than our ancestors?



-Laelth

[okaawhatever]

6. It simply means to be physically brought before the justice system.

From online dictionary:
bring to justice, to cause to come before a court for trial or to receive punishment for one's misdeeds: The murderer was brought to justice.

I think it has more to do with the fact that an individual must be sought out, arrested and brought to the criminal court for a hearing.

[catnhatnh]

7. It Means....

Life for a black,
3 to 5 for a white,
and if your rich, the shame you've brought on yourself is punishment enough...

[Laelth]

14. Very nicely said. n/t

-Laelth

[gratuitous]

8. In my experience . . .

It is usually proffered as a post hoc justification for whatever was just done that the speaker or the writer approves of. For example, after the United States sent a pack of trained assassins in to Pakistan, broke into a private home, and murdered the inhabitants, we dumped one of the bodies at sea, and because one of the people killed was Osama bin Laden, we called that "justice" and intimated that the ends of justice had been served.

For those of us in the United States who have a little more confidence in the durability of our Constitution - even when dealing with people designated as "anarchists," "communists," "radicals," or "terrorists" - it looked like something else.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. So you think that there should be no punishment for rape or murder?

You see punishment for such crimes as indefensible? Seriously?

[Douglas Carpenter]

12. my statement makes it 100% clear that that I agree that there is a need for deterrence

and a need to protect others from the harm of the dangerous. It would not be possible for anyone to read my statement and interpret it as suggesting that there should not be punishment for rape or murder.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. No, your statement does not do those things. Which is why I asked you the

question. Your OP seems to claim that justice is actually just revenge. If it was clear I'd not have asked you the question. What is the actual point of your OP then?

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. the point of my OP is to ask - what is the purpose of punishment other than

its fully legitimate purpose of deterring harmful acts and protecting the innocent from the dangerous? When its purpose is expressed in terms of retribution alone - I question its legitimacy.

[rrneck]

10. Well, as Chris Rock once said,

"If you run from the police, they're bringing an ass kicking with them."

An arrest warrant authorizes civil authorities to go and get you and bring you before a judge and possibly a jury of your peers. Such proceedings are part of living in a civil society. And that's it.

The rational universe is what we make of it. Hopefully that universe will be civilized.

[Orsino]

11. Punishment can and does teach lessons.

I think its highest purpose, though, is to preempt lynching. At its best, the criminal justice system satisfies enough of our urge to kick ass that most of us feel no urge to go vigilante. The more corrupt our system gets, though, the more attractive the torches and pitchforks look. That frightens me as much as the depths our current courts sometimes plumb.

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. kik