Response: Appeal of Revenge

In response to Brian's post "Rehabilitation as a Radical Solution" (April 29, 2012):

I think that the appeal of a retributive justice system is its fulfilment of people's wishes for revenge.  Regardless of its irrationality, the desire for revenge is a very deeply felt emotion in many, perhaps most, people.  A retributive justice system provides people with a way to satisfy this wish without transgressing the bounds of the law, and therefore without risking either personal harm or a guilty conscience.  Many people instinctively feel as though those who commit a crime or other harm against someone without justification deserve to have the same thing happen to them.  Of course, this leads to an endless cycle of revenge, which in medieval times often went on for generations in the form of blood feuds.  A retributive justice system regulates this somewhat, but still satisfies enough of people's wish for retribution that they do not feel wronged as much as they might in a society with a rehabilitative justice system.