Denunciation in the context of sentencing philosophy demonstrates the disapproval of an act by society expressed by the imposition of a punishment.
[1] In this respect, it has been argued that "punishment is not like a private letter; it is like a billboard put up on a busy street… it is also meant for the victim of crime and for the public at large”.
[4] Antony Duff (1986) claims that punishment is "an attempt at moral dialogue with offenders, censuring their actions and hoping to secure their ‘contrition’, with the result that they mend their ways."
One of those purposes is denunciation, described as "making sure the punishment reflects society’s abhorrence for the crime committed".
"[7] Cavadino says research indicates that citizens generally seem to have sufficient respect for the justice system to obey the laws in society and are not particularly influenced by the level of punishment imposed for particular offences - bearing in mind that people often have quite inaccurate beliefs about what the penalties are for particular offences.