Critically assess the Strengths and Weaknesses of the...

The man credited with the birth of the classical school was Cesaer Beccaria (1738-1794), who emerged during the enlightenment period of the eighteenth century. Some argue that criminology as an independent discipline only emerged about 60 – 70 years ago (Garland 2002), and whilst not concerned with studying criminals per se in the same way that we most associate with criminology today, the classical school was hugely influential in the formation of Criminal Justice System as we know it today. Farner (cited in Taylor et al 1973) a nineteenth century commentator on Beccaria asserts : â€Å"Whatever improvement our penal laws have undergone in the last hundred years is due primarily to Beccaria, and, to an extent that has not always been†¦show more content†¦The courts were made up of the rich and punishments were â€Å"ad-hoc† both as to how severe a punishment may be and also in terms of whether a punishment would in fact take place at all. The degree of any punishment would be largely dependent upon the personal views of the judge, jury’s would often include the victim of the alleged offence, and there were no sentences set in law. Defendants were generally of the lower classes and as such not treated equally. Punishment should not be dependent upon social status, and Beccaria argued â€Å" it is the judges duty to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused based on fact, not on social status, if found guilty, then the judge should impose the penalty prescribed by law† (Beccaria cited in Curran et al 1994 11) Beccaria questioned whether the extreme and tortuous punishments (which often included the death penalty) routinely dished out even had any effect in terms of deterring crime. In his most important works Dei delitti e delle pene, or â€Å"On Crimes and Punishments† Beccaria asked: â€Å"But what are to be the proper punishments for such crimes? Is the death penalty really useful and necessary for the security and good order of society? Are torture and torments just and do they attain the end for which laws are instituted? What is the best way to prevent crimes? Are the same