Abstract

LASSALLE, Martina. About/On the punishment of intentional homicide in contemporary Argentina. Rev. Pilquen. secc. cienc. soc. [online]. 2018, vol.21, n.2, pp.95-108. ISSN 1851-3123.

Penal system s selective character has been extensively investigated by social sciences, mainly regarding crimes against property. However, this has not been studied for homicides at the same extent. That is to say, it has not been deeply studied for the attempts against the legal asset apparently better protected by modern codes. What specificities do punishment practices assume in this case? Has justice administration the same selectivity criteria for life attempts than for property attempts? Who receive the most severe penalties for committing homicides? In the framework of these questions, the present article seeks to describe and analyze penal selectivity processes associated to punishment practices regarding the crime which would in principle be the most criminal of all imaginable and possible crimes. We will focus on the relation between the amount of punishment defined by judges and the gender, age, nationality, instruction level and last employment status of the people condemned for homicide in contemporary Argentina.

Keywords : Homicide; Judges; Punishment; Penal selectivity.