The rigth to punish: considerations on the penalty's finality

Abstract

This paper comments on the finality of the penalty, from the perspective of the democratic state’s rule of law and the principle of the human person ?s dignity. Moreover, this study seeks to understand state intervention when imposing sentences, within both paradigms of guilt and the punishment’s finality. With this objective, this research critically analyzes the fundamental theories of culpability. Sequentially, this paper explores theories of punishment and tries to align them with current theories of criminal penalties in order to address one of the most controversial questions in human history: why punish?