Commentary: Reflections on Remorse
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Vol. 42, Pg. 49, 2014
8 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2015
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
This commentary on Zhong et al. begins by addressing the definition of remorse. It then primarily focuses on the relation between remorse and various justifications for punishment commonly accepted in Anglo-American jurisprudence and suggests that remorse cannot be used in a principled way in sentencing. It examines whether forensic psychiatrists have special expertise in evaluating remorse and concludes that they do not. The final section is a pessimistic meditation on sentencing disparities, which is a striking finding of Zhong et al.
Keywords: Criminal law, forensic psychiatry, sentencing, justifications for blame and punishment, retribution, deterrence and incapacitation, nonpaternalistic and paternalistic rehabilitation, remorse and forensic practice, restitution, judges, judicial discretion
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