Ferri, Enrico

Ferri, Enrico fĕrˈrē [key], 1856–1929, Italian criminologist. He continued the scientific study of crime begun by Cesare Lombroso, emphasizing social and economic factors. He argued against penal systems that stressed only punitive action, recommending crime prevention instead. Argentina's penal code of 1921 was based on his ideas, but the Italian code that Ferri later drew up was rejected by the Fascist regime. He edited Avanti, a Socialist daily, for many years. Of his several books the best known is Criminal Sociology (1884, tr. 1917, repr. 1967).

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