Retribution is a common justification for tough sentences. Incapacitation, or preventing crime by keeping people in prison or jail is also a common rationale. ... The only utility to a retributive sentence is emotional satisfaction.

What is the goal of retribution?

Quite contrary to the idea of rehabilitation and distinct from the utilitarian purposes of restraint and deterrence, the purpose of retribution is actively to injure criminal offenders, ideally in proportion with their injuries to society, and so expiate them of guilt.

Is retribution positive or negative?

Positive retributivism is the view that offenders ought to get the deserved punishment. Negative retributivism is the view that no offender should be punished in excess of the deserved punishment. Retributivism is typically expressed in the language of proportionality.