DOI: http://doi.org/10.47743/jss-2022-68-2-7

Abstract: This article examines from a criminal and criminological perspective the reasons that make the perpetrator of a criminal act choose between assuming responsibility or avoiding criminal liability, based on the theories of criminologists and philosophers such as Cesare Bonesana Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham and Étienne De Greeff. The criminal act, as we shall show, changes a person's existential trajectory and creates a dramatic break within the individual that is likely to create a state of disorientation and confusion. Awareness of the unlawful nature of the act, fear of society's reaction and of the punishment that will be imposed by the courts are three of the main reasons analysed in the first part of the article why the perpetrator of a criminal act would adopt an attitude of denying the criminal charge. The second part of the article will discuss the procedural position of the plea of guilty, analysing the mental processes that lead to the making of a truthful confession before criminal justice authorities.

Keywords: plea of guilty; penal responsibility; punishment; social reaction.

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