Word.ws English Dictionary

desert principle

desert principle proper noun: the concept that offenders should be punished according to how blameworthy they are.

Proper noun

the desert principle

  1. The concept that offenders should be punished according to how blameworthy they are.
    • In that sense, the model represents a compromise: the basic structure of the penalty system is shaped by the desert principle, but crime-control considerations are given some scope in the choice of the individual offender's sentence.1980, Martin D. Schwartz, Todd R. Clear, Lawrence F. Travis, Corrections, an Issues Approach, page 113
    • Bedau contends that the desert principle has no mode of measurement to determine the degree of harm implicated by […]1984, The Prison Overcrowding Crisis, page 102

Origin of desert principle

From desert (“a just punishment or reward”).

Questions about desert principle

What does desert principle mean?
Desert principle means the concept that offenders should be punished according to how blameworthy they are.
What part of speech is desert principle?
Desert principle is a proper noun.

Words near desert principle in the dictionary

  1. desert pears
  2. desert peas
  3. desert physa
  4. desert physae
  5. desert physas
  6. desert principle
  7. desert raisin
  8. desert rat
  9. desert rats
  10. desert rheumatism
  11. desert rock

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: desert principle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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