Ferenc Finkey, the Calvinist Criminal Lawyer

Abstract

There is a strong Calvinist spirit in the professional work of all our Reformed Church criminal lawyers. Educating offenders, involving them in work, helping prisoners, helping and protecting those at risk played a primary role in their response to crime. Finkey’s approach was in harmony with this tradition. He was convinced that without the involvement of the society, without the active help of the churches, there would be no effective crime prevention. He emphasized the importance of education, arguing that education is necessary not only for juvenile offenders but also for the adults. Following the North American “reformatory school”, he called for establishing correctional institutions in Hungary, as many as possible.