In this article we will discuss some important issues regarding the recurrent occurrence of the term narcissistic violence in the debate on psychological violence and abuse in intimate partner relationships. We will elaborate on what the specific correlation between narcissism and psychological abuse and other forms of violence in intimate partner relationships and other relationships may entail and what the limitations are of this research at the present time. Most importantly, we will outline the possible risks of lay people labeling perpetrators of intimate partner violence as ‘narcissistic’ and make a plea for accurately diagnosing these perpetrators with narcissism or any other psychopathology by qualified psychologists and psychiatrists.

Studies showing that suspects with a migration background are punished more severely than offenders with a Dutch background receive a lot of attention from the media and politicians. Yet it remains unclear whether ethnicity causes sentencing disparity. This requires experimental research. In this study, we conduct an experiment in which one half of the participants judged a criminal casefile with a photo of a light-skinned suspect, and the other half a dark-skinned suspect. Data was collected in 2017 and 2021. The data from 2017 show no sentencing disparity, but the 2021-data do show that the dark-skinned offender is punished more severely. Recommendations for future research are made.

This article argues that retribution should play a role in the decision by the Life imprisonment Advisory College whether or not a person sentenced to life imprisonment should be eligible for re-integration activities. However, retribution should not be explained as corrective justice, but as moral justice, following the ideas of the philosopher Jean Hampton. With retribution as moral justice, the Advisory College can take into account the interests of both victims and the person sentenced to life imprisonment.