The New Debate About Shame in Criminal Justice: An Interactionist Account

A new debate has emerged that focuses on the potentiality of shaming as an instrument of formal social control. This article analyzes the new debate by resurrecting and elaborating on core concepts of labeling theory. Labeling theory dominated criminological thinking in the 1960s and 1970s, but fell into disrepute. With the demise of labeling, an important core issue was lost. Social standing in the community matters. Stigma, deserved or undeserved, has significant consequences for the stigmatized. The article concludes that judicial shame penalties are theoretically problematic, but reintegrative shaming alternatives, such as those found in restorative justice programs, are more promising.