Cesare Beccaria On Crimes And Punishment Summary

The Italian criminologist, jurist, and philosopher, Cesare Beccaria, if alive to witness the framework under which the United States’ counter terrorism measures operated, would be nothing short of appalled. On Crimes and Punishment, Beccaria’s most well-known work, argues against the use of torture, secret accusations, the arbitrary discretionary power of judges, the inconsistency and inequality of sentencing, the use of personal connections to gain more relaxed sentences, and the use of capital punishment for serious and even minor offenses. These practices remain alive today. The events of September 11th, 2001 brought the United States and the Western world into direct confrontation with radical extremism, and the confrontation dramatically altered the way in which the U.S. opposes those suspected of being terrorists. This

The success, or lack thereof, of the anti- terrorism measures which the United States adopted deserve attention. Over $1.6 trillion dollars and six thousand American lives later, the ‘War on Terror’ is a war with no foreseeable conclusion in sight. It is also a war in which the conduct of the United States Military has departed from conventional- if not morally acceptable- practices. There is a corollary between the acceptance of torture which occurred almost immediately after 9/11 and through the Bush years and the proliferation of drone strikes that has occurred under President Obama. This essay will argue that the United States government’s decision to employ ‘enhanced interrogation’ methods on suspected terrorists, as well as its active use of drone strikes against similar suspects is not only without legal merit, but serves to propagate terrorism and undermine national and global security in the long