To advance our collective work of interrogating the theological underpinnings of punishment, we are happy to share that Studies in Christian Ethics has released a special issue on “The Ethics of State Punishment.” The articles gathered in this issue were first presented at the third annual McDonald Symposium in Theological Ethics at Cambridge University, 13−15 May 2013.

In introducing the issue, Sarah Coakley explains, “The notable turn back to a ‘neo-classical’ retribution theory in this period, the relentless and punitive crack-down on minor drugs offences, the increasing privatisation of prisons, and the more recent and haunting fear of terrorist attack: all these factors have been undeniably important in the rise in prison populations, but they cannot explain the overall cultural acceptance of such an extraordinary state of affairs in ‘the land of the free’.”

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