Jacob Bronsther (Michigan State University – College of Law) has posted Liability to Society: A Theory of Punishment on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Critics argue that general deterrence—harming one person as a prudential warning to others—treats individuals as mere tools for the greater good rather than as bearers of rights. Why should an offender shoulder the burden of preventing the future crimes of total strangers? This Article answers that question by developing a theory of punishment and criminal sentencing grounded in tort principles of liability and corrective justice. It advances two claims. First, an offender wrongs society itself by contributing to the social costs of crime—economic, relational, psychological, and normative. Second, deterrent punishment is the proper tort-style remedy, since preventing future social harm can repair the harm caused by an offense. When deterrent punishment is the most effective means of crime prevention, and when it corrects the harm to society for which an offender is responsible, it does not sacrifice individuals for the greater good. Instead, it serves as a limited form of reparation—respecting, rather than overriding, the rights and responsibilities of people who commit offenses.
Recommended.