“Let the punishment fit the crime”: meaning, origin and examples
What it means
The phrase means that the severity of the punishment should be appropriate to the severity of the wrongdoing. Penalties should match the seriousness of the offense to be just and fair.
Tone The tone of the phrase is objective and rational, promoting fairness and justice in the administration of punishment.
Where it comes from
The phrase is best known from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado (1885), in which the Mikado sings about making each punishment fit the crime. The idea of proportional justice is much older.
Examples
- In the committee meeting, they discussed how they could let the punishment fit the crime when dealing with violations of the community guidelines.
- The judge believed in the principle that the punishment should fit the crime, hence he took into account the minor nature of the offense when deciding the sentence.
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