Skamstraff igår, idag och imorgon

Sammanfattning: During the early medieval period in Europe the criminal justice system was controlled by powerful families and the guiding principle for punishments was reparation. In this system shaming was of little use but eventually the church's increased influence led to change. Over the course of several hundred years the church increased centralization and state power to further their teachings to all Europe's denizens. Under the rule of church and state shaming was seen as an effective method of punishment, in part due to the low costs associated and because of the clear message sent to the public.  The growing popularity of shaming punishments largely continued over the course of the early modern period in Europe, although the number of frequently used shaming punishments diminished. Shaming punishments were used particularly often to punish women and those from the lower classes. Once the enlightenment occurred shaming punishments started to be seen as ineffective and inhumane. Calls for reform became more common. At the same time prisons emerged as a viable alternative to shaming. After more than a century this led to shaming becoming largely abandoned in all western criminal justice systems. There were however some abbreviations during the 20th century. After many years of being virtually non-existent shaming has become more potent in western criminal justice systems. The two main factors behind this are dissatisfaction with the available methods of punishments as well as the widespread use of the internet. Some people view this development positively and claim that it will make our criminal justice system more flexible and more cost effective. In my eyes shaming punishments are cruel, uncontrollable and a form of mob justice. They should never again have any formal role to play in the criminal justice system.