Volume 42, Issue 1, January 2016
Scott Gallagher
Pages 74-96
The Limits of Pure Restitution
The theory of pure restitution claims that a state should not punish offenders, and instead it should be limited to exacting restitution from offenders. I begin the paper by assessing and rejecting Jesper Ryberg’s critique of pure restitution. I then assess David Boonin’s defense of pure restitution. I argue that Boonin’s theory of pure restitution fails because it cannot rely on carceral nonmonetary interventions. After evaluating Boonin’s theory, I advance three novel versions of common objections to pure restitution. I conclude that there are strong objections to any theory of pure restitution that have yet to be overcome.