Prisons and Proportional Punishment

UCL Uncovering Politics

Getting convicted of a crime can have lots of further, harmful consequences, perhaps you’ll lose your home or job. Yet those consequences don’t fall equally: some might go back to something like their previous lives after imprisonment, where others can’t. And often that has to do with wider social injustices. So, is that unfair? Ought the state make punishment more proportionate?

Today’s guest is Dr Helen Brown Coverdale, Lecturer in Political Theory at UCL Political Science. Helen's research explores these issues, arguing that we should reform punishment to mitigate some of these harms.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Helen Brown Coverdale (2024) Putting Proportional Punishment into Perspective. Criminal Law and Philosophy.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.