retributive justice
Eye for eye
Retributive justice is the principle that wrongdoers deserve punishment proportional to their offenses—an eye for an eye.
The focus is on deserved consequences rather than rehabilitation or deterrence: The judge, believing in retributive justice, imposed the maximum sentence.
Critics argue it prioritizes vengeance over healing; proponents see it as giving moral weight to victims' suffering.
To leave behind completely
- deservedRightfully earned or warranted
- just desertsMerited reward or punishment
- moral responsibilityEthical answerability for actions
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
blameworthiness · culpability · wrongdoing · transgression · proportionality · fairness · righteousness · moral order
Punishing a wrongdoer
- eye for an eyePunishment matching the offense
- paybackRetaliation for wrongs
- reprisalPunitive action in return
- comeuppanceDeserved punishment or rebuke
reciprocity · blood feud · vendetta · tit for tat · just punishment · avenger · nemesis · wrath
Confinement in jail
- executionCompleting a planned task
- penaltyPunishment for wrongdoing
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
- sentencingImposing legal punishment
deterrence · sanction · detention · fine · imprisonment · capital punishment · corporal punishment · hard labor
Guaranteed judicial fairness
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- verdictOfficial court decision
- convictionFirmly held belief
acquittal · prosecution · defense · testimony · evidence · indictment · sentencing hearing · appellate court
German Enlightenment thinker
- censureFormal institutional disapproval
- denunciationFormal public accusation
desert
To leave behind completely
- deservedRightfully earned or warranted
- just desertsMerited reward or punishment
- moral responsibilityEthical answerability for actions
accountability · blameworthiness · culpability · wrongdoing · transgression · proportionality · fairness · righteousness · moral order · conscience
revenge
Punishing a wrongdoer
- eye for an eyePunishment matching the offense
- paybackRetaliation for wrongs
- reprisalPunitive action in return
comeuppance · reciprocity · blood feud · vendetta · tit for tat · just punishment · avenger · nemesis · wrath · vindication
incarceration
Confinement in jail
- executionCompleting a planned task
- penaltyPunishment for wrongdoing
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
sentencing · deterrence · sanction · detention · fine · imprisonment · capital punishment · corporal punishment · hard labor · restitution
due process
Guaranteed judicial fairness
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- verdictOfficial court decision
conviction · acquittal · prosecution · defense · testimony · evidence · indictment · sentencing hearing · appellate court · legal precedent
Kant
German Enlightenment thinker
- censureFormal institutional disapproval
- denunciationFormal public accusation
retributive justicerestorative justice
Conflict resolution through mutual healing
retributive justicemercy
Compassion toward offenders
forgiveness · clemency · pardon · amnesty · reconciliation
justice, adjust, justify, unjust, adjustment, injustice, judicial, retaliation, retaliate