Introduction

This little book of less than a hundred pages is the most important work in the history of penal reform. Starting from the social contract, Beccaria argues that men give up only the smallest portion of their liberty needed to protect society, so that the power to punish is limited. He sets out the basic principles of modern criminal law: only the law can define crimes and punishments, and judges may not interpret it at will; punishments must be proportionate to crimes; the purpose of punishment is not revenge but to prevent the offender from offending again and to deter others; and the certainty of punishment is more effective than its severity. He condemns torture, which, he shows, lets the strong criminal go free and makes the weak innocent confess, and he was the first to argue systematically for the abolition of the death penalty. After its publication many European states reformed their criminal laws on its model.