Send us a text message with feedback

Being the victim of a crime can be highly traumatic. Some argue that the criminal justice system can make the victim re-live that trauma all over again.

In this episode we look at how, historically, victims have moved away from being parties in a criminal case, to mere witnesses. This process of sidelining victim may be a necessary consequence of giving the State a monopoly over legitimate punishment but there may still be ways of making the victim's voice heard.

The Victim Impact Statement is one such device. Perhaps restorative justice procedures also help reintegrate the victim as well as the offender back into the community. Perhaps not.

For more information about your hosts and the Law in Context podcast series visit our website at https://lawincontext.com.au

Send us a text message with feedback

Everyone agrees that Crime and Punishment go together. But that's where the agreement ends. There are multiple aims of punishment: to inflict retribution (an eye for an eye); to deter others; to incapacitate the offender so the public is protected in the meantime; and to rehabilitate the offender so they do not re-offend after the sentence is over.

Juggling with these aims requires the judge to exercise discretion and to weigh up the aims of sentencing against the circumstances of the exact offence.

Sometimes, legislatures try to tie the hands of judges with some kind of mandatory sentence, and the whole area becomes politicised.

In this episode we discuss the aims, forms and difficulties of punishing crimes in today's world.

For more information about your hosts and the Law in Context podcast series visit our website at https://lawincontext.com.au

Send us a text message with feedback

Most people are fascinated by crime, at least if they are at a safe distance from it. It is the stuff of popular culture and serious scholarship. Theories abound. Might a certain amount of it be good for society if it reminds everyone of how they should behave? Or is criminalising certain behaviour a way of oppressive governments maintaining control?

In this episode we discuss how criminal law differs from other branches of law. It is public. It leads to punishment. It has separate procedures and a higher standard of proof.

We take two crimes - murder and theft - and discuss each of their elements, as examples of how the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the actus reus - the guilty act(s) - and the men rea - the guilty mind.

We look at defences, such as insanity, duress, necessity and automatism.

If you read, watch or listen to crime dramas, this episode gives you the foundations of the law that applies to them.

For more information about your hosts and the Law in Context podcast series visit our website at https://lawincontext.com.au