Suzanne M. Retzinger and Thomas J. Scheff

Searching for innovative, cost-effective sentencing, some courts have experimented with using shame to punish offenders and reduce crime. In the following viewpoint, Suzanne M. Retzinger and Thomas J. Scheff argue that shame-based punishment may not be an effective alternative to prison. The authors assert that shame is a complex emotion and current shame-based punishments ignore the harmful psychological consequences that an individual may experience after shaming. Therefore, the “crude” use of shame may backfire and do little to deter crime. If shaming is used, the authors recommend that it must be applied in a way that does not humiliate offenders and allows for their re-integration in the community. Retzinger is a family relations mediator at the Superior Court in Ventura, California. Scheff is a sociologist and...