Forgetting a Child in a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime? (2009)
This is a great way to analyze the purposes of the criminal justice system. Typically, there are three: punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Prosecuting someone who forgot their kid in the car can&#x27;t have deterrent effect--to the extent the event was avoidable, the possibility of prosecution couldn&#x27;t possibly match the deterrent effect created by the risk of harm to the child. Likewise, there is no rehabilitative purpose. You think someone who did that is likely to do it again? The only possible purpose is punishment, which doesn&#x27;t seem valid here either. In my view, the purpose of punishment is to create and reinforce social norms. It makes people not do something not because they fear the punishment, but because they feel shame for violating the norm. Do we need to create such a norm for not endangering your kid?