NCJ Number
124449
Journal
Criminology Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 325-346
Date Published
1990
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Beccaria is widely acknowledged as one of penology's great reformers. This paper analyzes aspects of Beccaria's life and works and concludes that the adoration afforded Beccaria by penologists far outweighs the actual contributions he made to penology.
Abstract
Many of the reforms that occurred during the eighteenth century can as easily be ascribed to social and political conditions as to Beccaria's work. When compared with the works of other great reformers of the eighteenth century, such as Voltaire or Bentham, Beccaria's works are less profound. The myth of Beccaria nonetheless presides over the modern paradigm of liberal penology. 41 references. (Author abstract)