Cesare Beccaria was an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, economist, and politician who emerged as one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment. He is best remembered for his groundbreaking 1764 treatise On Crimes and Punishments, a seminal work that condemned torture and the death penalty and advocated for criminal justice reform based on reason, proportionality, and deterrence. Beccaria’s ideas helped lay the foundation for modern criminal law and earned him recognition as the father of both criminal law and criminal justice.
Born in Milan in 1738, Beccaria was educated at the Jesuit school in Parma and later studied law at the University of Pavia. Although initially drawn to mathematics, his interest shifted to economics and legal reform under the influence of Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and Helvétius. He became closely associated with the Verri brothers, founders of the Milanese intellectual society “L’Accademia dei pugni” (Academy of Fists), whose discussions inspired Beccaria’s interest in reforming the criminal justice system.
Encouraged by Pietro Verri, Beccaria published On Crimes and Punishments anonymously, fearing political backlash. The essay quickly gained international attention and was translated into several languages. In it, Beccaria argued that laws exist to maintain the social contract and that punishments should be proportionate to the crime, serve a preventive function, and be applied promptly. He rejected the use of torture, secret accusations, and the death penalty, insisting that harsh penalties are neither effective nor morally justified.
Beccaria’s work influenced major legal reforms throughout Europe and shaped the thinking of American founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Though he never produced another work of equal impact, his ideas have endured for centuries, influencing contemporary criminal policy and continuing to inspire debates on justice, deterrence, and human rights.