New Book: Punishment, Penalty, and Incapacitation

“There are dangerous people in the world: murderers, robbers, and rapists; carriers of contagious diseases; mentally ill people who are a danger to themselves and others; combatants who would wage war when so ordered, whether the war is just or unjust; [and] terrorists who aim to kill noncombatants for political or other ideological causes; … Addressing these sorts of threats is a basic function of any government; any government that failed to address them would not last long. [But] it is fundamentally morally important for states to address these threats in a way that respects the dignity of all.”

That is an excerpt and the basis of a new book written by Rutgers Law Distinguished Professor Alec Walen. Punishment, Penalty, and Incapacitation: A Dignity‑Respecting Model of Targeted Restrictions of Liberty for Liberal States (Oxford University Press 2026) provides essential guidance for lawyers, judges, policymakers, and scholars grappling with the legal and moral limits of coercive state authority. As debates over detention, preventive security measures, and state power intensify in the United States and around the world, the book offers a timely framework for understanding how liberal democratic states may justify restricting individual liberty while maintaining respect for human dignity. 

Professor Walen argues that such restrictions must be justified by one of four distinct moral and legal grounds: deserved punishment, forfeiture of rights, enforceable duties to self‑restrict, or a lack of accountability. Each justification imposes characteristic limits on the way restrictions can operate. By carefully distinguishing among these justifications, the book challenges overly broad approaches that rely solely on punishment or prevention to justify detention. It shows that many common state practices blur important moral boundaries and risk treating individuals as mere means to collective security rather than as rights‑bearing individuals. At the same time, the book does not reject detention and other forms of targeted restrictions on liberty outright. Instead, it provides a framework for identifying when liberty restrictions are permissible and how they must be structured to remain consistent with liberal democratic values.

Drawing on a wide range of legal cases, political theory, and philosophical analysis, Professor Walen develops a rigorous model for understanding detention and other targeted limits on liberty. Punishment, Penalty, and Incapacitation also offers practical guidance for reform. It outlines ways in which liberal states can better align their laws and policies with the moral foundations they claim to uphold. These proposals are especially relevant for lawmakers, judges, and practitioners seeking alternatives to detention regimes that are overly punitive or otherwise insufficiently respectful of human dignity. 

Professor Walen is a co-director of the Rutgers Institute for Law and Philosophy. His research focuses on the philosophical foundations of moral rights and the criminal law. He has published in numerous journals, including Ethics, The Journal of Moral Philosophy, Law and Philosophy, and Philosophy and Public Affairs. His previous book was The Mechanics of Claims and Permissible Killing in War (Oxford University Press 2019).