Strafen aus Respekt vor der Menschenwrde

The justification and commensurability of punishments is a central problem of all state and social philosophies. This essay is concerned with theories of retribution and theories of general prevention of crime, and works out its own point of view in a combination of the concept that the purpose of punishment is to deter the offender and resocialization, and derives from this a plea for a system for dealing with criminals which respects their human dignity.