Founding the Criminal Law: Punishment and Political Thought in the Origins of America by Ronald J. Pestritto

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Why does society punish criminals? What political principles underlie the determination of punishment? In Founding the Criminal Law, Pestritto analyzes policies concerning crime and punishment in early America as a means to better understand political thought during the founding era and to shed light on modern debates about the consequences of lawbreaking.

Following the American Revolution, several states dramatically reduced the severity of criminal penalties. Pestritto carefully examines changes in criminal statutes and penal reforms of the time, tracing their roots in the Western tradition of political thought and connecting them to such current issues as “three strikes” and mandatory sentencing.

Basing his research on original government documents, state constitutions, the arguments of America's founders, and the writings of such influential reformers as William Penn, William Bradford, and Thomas Jefferson, Pestritto analyzes the complex mix of punishment philosophies at work in early America. While legal scholars and historians often credit Enlightenment utilitarianism with having the dominant influence on America's first penal codes, Pestritto maintains that early criminal legislation represented a synthesis of political approaches: divine justice, the natural law, penitence, and moral amendment as well as Enlightenment utilitarianism. He argues that the political principles that guided America's founders in their selection of criminal punishments have much to contribute to the current debate over crime and justice in America. Founding the Criminal Law is an interdisciplinary work of particular interest to political scientists, American and legal historians, and criminal justice scholars.