The paradigmatic wrong for which punishment seems appropriate is an intentional or knowing violation of the important rights of another, such as murder or rape.

The paradigmatic wrong for which punishment seems appropriate is an intentional or knowing violation of the important rights of another, such as murder or rape. It is almost as clear that an attempt to do the same is a proper basis for punishment, though how to define the concept of an attempt is highly contested (Duff 1996; Alexander, Ferzan, & Morse 2009: ch. 6; Yaffe 2010). The more tenuous the connection to a rights violation, and the less culpable the mental state, the more controversial punishment for an act or omission becomes. This raises special problems for purely regulatory (mal...