title: Can the criminal law ever be therapeutic?
abstract: This paper addresses the question of whether criminal law, especially in its sentencing and penological aspects, can be adjusted in its workings to incorporate the perspective of therapeutic jurisprudence. A conceptual framework developed by Wexler, Winick, and their colleagues is employed to provide a basis for reflection on the operation and impact of sentencing processes. Of considerable importance in this exercise is a mounting volume of evidence concerning the outcomes of work with adjudicated offenders, which illustrates the potential of psycho-educational, behavioral-cognitive skills-training, and therapeutic programs for reduction of recidivism. Such intervention programs are currently offered within the limits set by, but are not intrinsic components of, judicial decisions. The psycho-legal implications of these findings are discussed and some possibilities surveyed for tentative exploration of actively therapeutic departures within crimino-legal decision-making.
authors.affiliation: University of Liverpool, Department of Clinical Psychology, Whelan Building, The Quadrangle, Liverpool, L69 3GB, UK. merc@liverpool.ac.uk
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McGuire
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003416:Criminal Law; D003417:Criminal Psychology; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence