Matching the Punishment to the Crime

The article examines the problem of matching punishment to a crime, since the legislator determines the severity of the crime through punishment. It seems that the logical sequence of legislative provisions should be different, namely, the public danger of a crime should determine the category of crime on which punishment should depend. The punishment provided for the commission of a crime cannot in itself be a criterion for classifying this crime into a certain category. On the contrary, the category of crime should determine the rules for sentencing. In addition, the normative categorization of crimes is based in fact on only one type of punishment — imprisonment for a certain period of time. All other, less severe punishments define the category of a minor crime. At the same time, punishment only in the form of imprisonment cannot be a criterion for absolutely all categories of crimes. This type of punishment may relate to a greater extent to grave and especially grave crimes. For crimes of minor and moderate severity, the standard punishments should be less severe. In conclusion, the author comes to the conclusion that typical punishments, depending on the category of crime, may be: a fine for committing a minor crime; compulsory labor for committing a moderate crime; forced labor for committing a serious crime; imprisonment for a particularly serious crime. To ensure the individualization of punishment, additional punishments are applied, such as deprivation of a special, military or honorary title, class rank and state awards; deprivation of the right to hold certain positions; deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities; restriction of freedom.