Cesare Beccaria was a leader of the Classical School of Criminology in the 18th century. He wrote an influential book called On Crimes and Punishments that argued for a reform of cruel punishment systems. Beccaria believed the purpose of punishment should be deterrence and prevention of future crimes, rather than revenge or torture. He advocated for proportionate and humane punishment systems. Beccaria's ideas greatly influenced criminal justice reforms and the founding of the U.S. Constitution.

1. THE LEADER OF THE
CL A S S I C A L S C H O O L O F
CRIMINOLOGY
C ES A R E B E C C A R I A
Governor’s State University
Theories of Crime and Deviance
Kerry Bell
November 13, 2012

2. CESARE BONESANA, MARCHESE BECCARIA,
1738-1794

3. CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY
 In the 18th Century, Beccaria was the lead figure to lead the cause to reform the
criminal justice system. As a scholar, he was not educated as criminal justice major
but as a mathematician and economist. His thoughts of reform led to great ideas
for changing the brutal way the law treated the common people. The law had the
power to inflict torture, beat, hide the offender in secrecy, and even put to death
(Lilly, pg. 21). Beccaria wanted the law or legislation to treat citizens with humane
justice and have a purpose of preventing crime (Lilly, pg. 22). It was “better to
prevent crimes than to punish those who commit them” ( Lilly, pg. 22).

4. FACT..
 Alessandro Verri (1741-1816)(About
Milan, n.d.), Beccaria’s close friend and
head of the protectors of inmates in
Milan, Italy, inspired Beccaria to write an
essay based on prison conditions and how
prisoners are treated. This essay was
published anonymously due to fear of
backlash from the government. This essay
or later, book was called “On Crimes and
Punishments” (Lilly, pg. 21).

5. FACTS..
 The book On Crimes and Punishment (Lorenzo Da
Ponte Italian Library, 2009), which was published in
1764, focused on changing the criminal justice system
back in the late 1700’s. To Beccaria’s surprise, the
government did accept and receive the book very well
and considered the changes highlighted in the book.
It was at that point, Beccaria revealed himself as the
author. By the year 1767, after several revisions, the
book was finally translated into English.
 Beccaria did not believe in capital punishment
but he did believe in the punishment fitting the crime
( Lilly, pg.21).

6. FINAL THOUGHTS…
 The theory of punishment being a deterrence and used to prevent offenders
from committing additional crimes comes from Beccaria’s book On Crimes and
Punishment. This concept can still be applied today towards some punishment for
offenders and is still being used today in the criminal justice field ( Lilly, pg. 22).
 Beccaria’s use of theory for explaining crime and how it should affect the
people it govern, helped governments establish a ground work for guidelines to be
used by the police and for criminal procedures to follow ( Lilly, pg. 20). Credit
must be given to the classical school for discussing the thought process a criminal
took to perform an act of crime. What motivates someone to commit crime? If
crime is committed, the punishment should justify the crime without applying an
excessive amount of punishment (Lilly, pg.21).
 Lastly, a wonderful fact most of us can appreciate is The U.S. Constitution
was inspired by the ideas of Beccaria and the Classical school defining the rights of
an offender and the government within the criminal law (Lilly, pg. 22).

7. REFERENCES
 About Milan.com .Famous People Of Milan. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmilan.com/milanese-famous-people.html. n.d.
 Anonymous. Internet Encyclopedia Of Philosophy Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794). Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/beccaria/11
April 2001
 Coleman, C. & Norris, C., (2000) Introducing Criminology (Cullompton: Willan Publishing). Image
http://suite101.com/article/positivist-criminology-a201231
 Lilly, J. Robert , F. T. & Ball, R. A. (2011) Criminological Theory: Context and consequences ( 5th Edition) Sage Publications
 Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library, image. http://www.lpil.info/2008/05/29/on-crimes-and-punishments-and-other-writings/. May
2009
 Roland, Jon. Constitution Society. Of Crimes and Punishments . Retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/cb/crim_pun.htm 18 August
2012