~Beccaria's Legacy~Beccaria came up with the new theory for the court systems of his time. These ideas were originally rejected because they went against the church. At the time, the church was using torture and death as common punishments, called capital punishment. So, when he tried to change it, people did not like his ideas. Though, Cesare believed criminal justice should adhere to rational rules. Eventually, his ideas became accepted and now are still used today.
Modern court systems still credit him with some of the laws and regulations we have for punishment. After all, if it weren't for him, you would still have the possibility of being put to death for a petty crime such as stealing. Beccaria said that crimes such as that should be paid for equally to the deed. For example, if you steal you should be made poor. Crimes involving injury on the other hand should be paid for by physical labor, which is where we get our current punishment of Community Service. Beccaria is highly recognizable from his time because his ideas were completely new. This caused him some ridicule. Though, the popularity of the book helped spread the humanitarian outlook of the age which then influenced the conscience of a large portion of Europe. If Cesare had not published his work, life would not be the same today. |
"Happy is the nation without a
history." ~Cesare Beccaria |