The death penalty and Beccaria's criticisms of crimes and punishmentsAbstractThe purpose of this article is to discuss Beccaria's Crimes and Punishments, with particular attention to Beccaria's views on the death penalty and the numerous criticisms surrounding his work. Beccaria held extreme views against the death penalty, but contradicted them several times. This led to criticism of his work and many of his views on the society of the Enlightenment period. There were some who argued that Beccaria had not written Crimes and Punishments, this along with other criticisms will be addressed below. The Death Penalty and Criticisms of Beccaria's Work The purpose of this article is to discuss the death penalty and the numerous criticisms surrounding Cesare Beccaria's On Crimes and Punishments. Punishments. Key points in Beccaria's life according to Adler, Mueller and Laufer (2000):Cesare Bonesana, Marquis of Beccaria (1738-1794), was rather mediocre as a student. After graduating in law from the University of Pavia, he returned home to Milan and joined a group of articulate and radical intellectuals. Disenchanted with contemporary European society, they organized themselves into the Accademia dei Pugni, one of the many youth clubs that flourished in Italy at the time. Their aim was to discover what reforms would be necessary to modernize Italian society. In March 1763 Beccaria was commissioned to prepare a report on the prison system. Pietro Verri, head of the Accademia dei Pugni, encouraged him to read the works of English and French philosophers: David Hume (1711-1776), John Locke (1632-1704), Claude Adrien Helvetius (1715-1771), Volt. ..... half of the paper ...... serves to define the substance. Some say that it is this level of generality that constitutes his genius." (Newman and Marongiu, 1990) Although Beccaria has been widely criticized, his views have been shared for many generations and will continue to shape and shape future generations. Bibliography : References Adler, F., Mueller, GOW, and Laufer. (2001) (4th ed.: McGraw-Hill. Beccaria, C. (1963). New York: Macmillan. (Original work published 1764). Johnson, H. , & Wolfe, N. (1996). & Marongiu, P. (1990)., 28, 325-346.