Dressler,
pp. 681-682: Richard Delgado—“Rotten Social Background”
There
is a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and criminal
behavior. We should admit the
possibility that some people commit crime because they are poor. The author suggests that it may follow that
we should not condemn poor criminals because they are not to blame for their
conduct, rather, their upbringing is to blame.
The
author feels that under some retributive theories of justice, a person must be
punished in order to restore a certain moral equilibrium to the community. He goes on to suggest that the poorest defendants
may not have been members of that community in the first place.
Some
say that criminals are alienated. They
say that criminals are not part of our community and don’t agree to obey our
rules.
The
author says that poor people who commit crime out of rage or for political reasons
will not be deterred. The author posits
that the poor have nothing of value, so you can’t threaten to take anything
away from them.
Notes
and Questions
1. Nutty, nutty,
nuts ‘n’ gum! Totally nutty. What if everyone in the
2. Morse says
that there are hard choices and easy choices, but both are still choices.
3. Kadish says
phooey on RSB. He says “explanations
aren’t excuses”.