Meanings
- The concept that offenders should be punished according to how blameworthy they are.
The desert principle is clearly unrelated to the demands of social control, rehabilitation, or reintegration.
1985, Robert Melvin Carter, Daniel Glaser, Leslie T. Wilkins, Correctional Institutions, page 3332 more examples
In that sense, the model represents a compromise: the basic structure of the penalty system is shaped by the desert principle, but crime-control considerations are given some scope in the choice of the individual offender's sentence.
1980, Martin D. Schwartz, Todd R. Clear, Lawrence F. Travis, Corrections, an Issues Approach, page 113Bedau contends that the desert principle has no mode of measurement to determine the degree of harm implicated by […]
1984, The Prison Overcrowding Crisis, page 102
Origin
From desert (“a just punishment or reward”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
desert principle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desert%20principle
“desert principle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desert%20principle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desert principle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desert%20principle.
Source: desert principle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.