Response To 'On Crimes And Punishments'

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The response to “On Crimes and Punishments” was uniformly positive. And, as Newman and Marongiu (1990) point out, the ideas expressed in Beccaria’s book quickly found advocates in Europe and became important in debates about criminal law, penology and crimnology. But Newman and Marongiu contend that this was mostly due to the strong support of Beccaria’s recommendations by Voltaire (Newman and Marongiu, 1990).
While Monachesi (1973) also notes the role of Voltaire in promoting the book, he indicates that in order to properly understand why “On Crimes and Punishments” created such excitement and enthusiasm in Europe, it is important to understand the state of criminal law in Europe at that time. Monachesi describes the criminal justice system