Book detail: On crimes and punishments is presented as a focused source page for quotations connected with this book, collection, transcript, or source record.
This influential treatise presents arguments for humane treatment in the criminal justice system, questioning the legitimacy of torture and capital punishment. The author argues for proportional punishment, the social contract between citizens and government, and the necessity of clear, predictable laws. The work emphasizes that punishments should serve as deterrents and corrections rather than instruments of cruelty, advocating for reforms that would establish justice based on reason rather than arbitrary power.
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