Just Desserts

Just Dessert

Sara Redfearn

ADJ/125

February 6, 2012

The term “just desserts” has been in use since the 16th century, according to Gary Martin of Phrases.org. The more modern term of this phrase would be ‘that which is justly deserved’. A lot of people get this phrase confused with the sweet treat dessert, when in fact this is a meaning more for the legal system, than for a reward for a deed done well. The debate that stands behind this theory is a heated one, with both sides taking strong stances for, and against criminals getting their ‘just desserts’.

On the affirmative side, there are people who strongly believe that criminals should get what they deserve. That is, if a burglar were to come home, and he finds his own home as been burglarized, he has had his ‘just desserts’. In the courtroom punishment phase, this could be that a rapist or murderer is stuck in secluded area where they are not allowed any human contact, because they cannot seem to behave when they are around innocent people, who later become their victims.

A lighter example of someone getting their just desserts, on the positive side, would be an elderly man working his whole life to provide for his family. One day he walks into the store to buy a lottery ticket, and hits the jacket pot. He is set for life, and will never again have to worry about their financial situation. While the elderly man has all this money, he freely gives a large sum of his money to a charity, or homeless shelter, therefore justifying the good deed he has done, and no injustice has been done.

Those who stand against the theory of just desserts feel as though the punishment should fit the crime. They stand firm on the belief that laws are put in place and there should be no exception for what a criminal when it comes to their punishment.

One example of the negative side would be if a man steals a loaf of bread from the grocery store and gets caught. Those in favor of the theory would...