Raffaele Garofalo


Raffaele Garofalo was an Italian criminologist and jurist.

Criminology theories

He was a student of Cesare Lombroso, often regarded as the father of criminology. He rejected the doctrine of free will and supported the position that crime can be understood only if it is studied by scientific methods. He attempted to formulate a sociological definition of crime that would designate those acts which can be repressed by punishment. These constituted "Natural Crime" and were considered offenses violating the two basic altruistic sentiments common to all people, namely, probity and piety. Crime is an immoral act that is injurious to society. This was more of a psychological orientation than Lombroso's physical-type anthropology.
Garofalo's law of adaption followed the biological principle of Charles Darwin in terms of adaption and the elimination of those unable to adapt in a kind of social natural selection. Consequently, he suggested
  1. Death for those whose criminal acts grew out of a permanent psychological anomaly, rendering them incapable of social life.
  2. Partial elimination or long time imprisonment for those fit only for the life of nomadic hordes or primitive tribes and
  3. Enforced reparation on the part of those who lack altruistic sentiments but who have committed their crimes under pressure of exceptional circumstances and are not likely to do so again.

    Works

Works in English translation