ABSTRACT. Garland states that the logic of state punishment remains at bottom political rather than penological. The difference in the extension of "excuse" reflects the normal difference in scope of criminal and of moral responsibility. Palermo and White expose the perceptions and dilemmas of law professionals acting in the criminal judiciary scene. Dworkin claims that individual subjectivity must play a significant role in the construction of features of the legal system. May holds that individuals’ pursuit of survival both justifies the sovereignty of a state as protector, and permits resistance to sovereignty when it fails or attacks the pursuit.