Who authored the first book 'On Crime and Punishment'?

Who authored the first book 'On Crime and Punishment'?

• A. Cesare Beccaria
• B. Bentham
• C. Zebulon Brockway
• D. Dorothea Dix

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is who wrote the pioneering work that kicked off modern thinking about crime and punishment. Cesare Beccaria authored Dei delitti e delle pene, published in 1764, often translated as On Crimes and Punishments. This book argued for reforms that were radical for its time: opposing torture and the death penalty in many cases, insisting punishment should be swift, certain, and proportionate to the crime, and applying laws with a rational and humane approach. Beccaria’s ideas helped lay the foundation for later criminal justice reforms and the development of deterrence-based thinking in penology. Bentham is known for later utilitarian-inspired writings on criminal law and punishment, not this particular work. Zebulon Brockway and Dorothea Dix contributed to prison reform and social welfare in different ways, but they did not author this treatise.

The main idea being tested is who wrote the pioneering work that kicked off modern thinking about crime and punishment. Cesare Beccaria authored Dei delitti e delle pene, published in 1764, often translated as On Crimes and Punishments. This book argued for reforms that were radical for its time: opposing torture and the death penalty in many cases, insisting punishment should be swift, certain, and proportionate to the crime, and applying laws with a rational and humane approach. Beccaria’s ideas helped lay the foundation for later criminal justice reforms and the development of deterrence-based thinking in penology.

Bentham is known for later utilitarian-inspired writings on criminal law and punishment, not this particular work. Zebulon Brockway and Dorothea Dix contributed to prison reform and social welfare in different ways, but they did not author this treatise.