A Strained Restraint

Overview & Synopsis

In this chapter, the findings of this book are summarized with a view to penal moderation and how it is challenged and then analysed to find out how the public, politicians and the media interact in the production of penal moderation. What we see is a dynamic between these three spheres of a constant renegotiation of rational restraint and passionate outburstsa strained restraint. While these outbursts as well as assumptions about attitudes in the population in particular contribute to an increase in punitiveness foremost in penal legislation, these reactions are themselves moderate in their outcome. The chapter concludes with reflections on role of deliberation processes in a democratic society for penal culture.