Strafe und Vergeltung - Rehabilitation und Grenzen eines Prinzips

Tonio Walter’s introduces his new, empirical-sociological theory of criminal justice in a brief lecture. His theory bases on the empirical findings on the human need for retribution and states that a society can only remain stable if this need is satisfied. Prevention and rehabilitation remain legitimate goals for government action. They are, however, not the purpose of punishment in its strict sense. In fact, they often run into a goal conflict with the retributive purpose of punishment, which can only be resolved under thorough consideration.
Tonio Walter finally draws conclusions from his theory. One of them is that the ranges of punishment should be tighter. Other ones are the introduction of community work as a main punishment, the promotion of criminological research, and a criminal policy based on it. This may also lead to decriminalizing acts if not triggering an important need for retribution – for instance the possession of small amounts of cannabis for private use.