Incapacitation in the context of sentencing philosophy refers to the effect of a sentence in terms of positively preventing (rather than merely deterring) future offending.
Imprisonment incapacitates the prisoner by physically removing them from the society against which they are deemed to have offended. Long term imprisonment with the intention to incapacitate is often used by criminal justice systems against habitual criminals who recidivate.
Examples
Examples of incapacitation include back-to-back life sentences,
Cutting off a hand of a thief is also an example; this acts to prevent further thefts in a drastic manner, in addition to its having a deterrent effect on others.
See also
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