LSAT 150 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Legal theorist: Only two types of theories of criminal sentencing…

QUESTION TYPE: Must be True

FACTS:

1. There are 2 acceptable types of theories of criminal sentencing: retributivist (sentence only for punishment) and rehabilitationist (sentences can reform).
2. Retributivist theories are only acceptable if punishment is proportional to offense.
3. Retributivist theories can’t give harsher punishments for repeat offenses – they aren’t proportional. If they do, they are unacceptable.

ANALYSIS: There’s a lot to work with here, so it is best to look at the answers instead of trying to prephrase in this case. Make sure to keep the categories straight in your head. We know a lot more about retributivist theories than rehabilitationist theories, but that doesn’t mean we can make hasty assumptions about rehabilitationist theories.

It’s important to note that the “punishment must be proportional” principle only explicitly applies to the first category (retributivist) and not the second (rehabilitationist).

___________

1. This is incorrect. We don’t know that no rehabilitationist theory holds this – it’s certainly possible that some believe punishment can reform.
2. We don’t know this for sure. We know that retributivist theories don’t allow longer sentences for repeat offenses, but we don’t know for sure that it sometimes helps to reform.
3. This is too hasty. We don’t know what makes rehabilitationist theories acceptable or unacceptable, so we can’t say that all of any kind of theories are acceptable.
4. This cannot be inferred. We know that proportionality is necessary for retributivist theories to be acceptable. But this doesn’t mean all theories that follow this principle are acceptable. Maybe there’s a second condition that is also required.
5. CORRECT. We know that longer sentences for repeat offenses makes a retributivist theory unacceptable. We also know that there are only two types of theories. So if such a theory is acceptable, it must be a rehabilitationist theory.
    
   Note that this isn’t saying that it’s certainly acceptable as long as it’s rehabilitationist. It’s just saying that it must be rehabilitationist.

Recap: The question begins with “Legal theorist: Only two types of theories of criminal sentencing”. It is a Must be True question. Learn more about LSAT MBT questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.