THE JUDICIAL AND JUDICIOUS USE OF SHAME PENALTIES

This article analyzes and critiques the recent use of judicial shame p enalties. Arguing that these penalties are designed to satisfy a ''ret ributive impulse,'' they communicate and enforce nonnative, as opposed to legal, standards. The power of the sanction is found in the threat of social exclusion. Three classes of shame penalties are identified: public exposure, debasement, and apology penalties. Critique of the p enalties focuses on the risk of stigmatization and exclusion, the stru ctural preconditions for offender reintegration, and the potentiality of using shame sanctions in an individualistic society.