Sentencing Beyond the Offender: Family Harm, Proportionality, and the Limits of Criminal Punishment.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/avms6103Keywords:
Sentencing, Perpetrator’s family, Consequentialism, Prioritarianism, Retributivism, Complex Proportionality.Abstract
When a parent is imprisoned, punishment frequently harms children and other innocent relatives through financial loss, psychological trauma, educational disruption, and social stigma. This paper examines the extent to which courts should consider such family impact in sentencing through consequentialism, prioritarianism, and retributivism. It argues that consequentialism recognises collateral harm but risks inconsistency, while retributivism protects equal treatment but may ignore foreseeable suffering. Prioritarianism highlights the disproportionate burden placed on already vulnerable families. The paper ultimately supports Leonora G. Catuara’s theory of Complex Proportionality as the most balanced framework because it considers involuntary dependence, equal justice, and existing disadvantage without allowing family circumstances to override proportionate punishment.
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