Beccaria of Milan was a member of a group of high-powered intellectuals, the self-styled ‘Academy of Fisticuffs’, headed by his patron and mentor Pietro Verri. Unlike the milieu of Pelli, his group was committed to the principles of the European Enlightenment. He admired and was strongly influenced by leading French philosophers, in particular, Montesquieu (the Persian Letters) and Helvétius. Of earlier authorities he was particularly drawn to Francis Bacon and Heineccius, and was influenced by preceding natural jurists including Hobbes. His attack on the death penalty begins with an individual interpretation of the social contract. His argumentation is multi-faceted. It involves, among other things, an in-depth analysis (after Helvétius) of human nature, and a forthright argument in favour of perpetual hard labour as the ultimate penalty, based on the claim that this (long-drawn-out) punishment would be a more effective deterrent than (quick) execution.