Which rationale for incarceration is based on the idea that offenders deserve consequences for wrongdoing?

• A. Retribution
• B. Deterrence
• C. Incapacitation
• D. Rehabilitation

Answer: (A)

Retribution is the idea that punishment is a deserved consequence for wrongdoing, rooted in the offender’s moral culpability and the notion of desert. It treats incarceration as a response to the harm caused by the crime, focusing on just deserts rather than future outcomes. This differs from deterrence, which uses punishment to discourage future crimes in others or in the offender; incapacitation, which aims to protect society by removing the offender from it; and rehabilitation, which seeks to change the offender’s behavior so they won’t offend again. So the rationale described—punishment because the offender deserves it—best fits retribution.