How Did Beccaria Use Extreme Punishment

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Beccaria was dissatisfied with the criminal justice system that prevailed at the time in Italy. What he observed was that the Italian justice system used extreme punishment for the violation of laws that were sometimes arbitrary and unfair. Beccaria wrote a book entitled “On Crimes and Punishment” in 1764 in which he explained his belief that people are rational and they do things that bring them pleasure and avoid doing things which bring them pain. Since he was of the opinion that people are responsible for their actions, he advocated certain and swift punishment of appropriate intensity and duration for the offense committed. If this kind of response was used consistently, he theorized, then it would deter people from committing crimes.