...the other completes his college education while still in prison and teaches other convicts English. He also volunteers for medical experiments, allowing himself to be injected with malaria germs in order to test new drugs. A model prisoner, he causes no trouble throughout his entire prison term. After about 30 years, he is paroled, whereupon he goes to a different country and continues to teach English. Two years later he dies of natural causes. Should this man have been subjected to capital punishment? Why or why not Theories that will be applied: 1. Divine Command Theory 2. Virtue Ethics 3. Utilitarianism Capital punishment has been and will always be a widely debated topic. The biggest question that surrounds capital punishment would be is it morally right or is it morally wrong? There are many arguments for and against capital punishment. Is a capital punishment really a deterent as some would say? I will apply and test three theories to the case mentioned above to see if capital punishment is the most appropriate solution or not. First I will examine the divine command theory and see how it applies to the case mentioned above. In all fairness I must say that in the case mentioned above the divine command theory is strongly contradicting itself. How is that possible? Well let us start by saying that the divine command theory uses Gods...
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...Yes, I believe in the death penalty. Criminals that have spent years in prison sometimes can turn very heartless and some will never change. I think the death penalty should be reinstated in the U.K. Sure there are several reasons to why people would be against it, like the fact that an inmate can spend several years on death row and receive trials to try and get them off during their waiting time. And, yes, innocent people could be executed, but it’s not as a big of a number as people make it out to be. The death penalty does deteriorate crime, specifically homicide rates, but when a convicted murderer is released from prison there is a 90%+ chance they will re-commit, only because they have been deprived from the outside world for such a long time and there are new things for them to introduced to, which may intimidate them. But at least when you execute the inmate, it’s one less person regular society has to worry about. People like them that are serving time just don’t change. Just put them to death so they cant terrorize society anymore. Surely, it would be a win win situation anyway, because their suffering would cease as well. The medieval philosopher, Thomas Aquinas made this point very clear: “Therefore, if any man is dangerous to the community and is subverting it by some sin, the treatment to be commended in his execution in order to preserve the common good… Therefore to kill a man who retains his natural worthiness is intrinsically evil, although it may be justifiable...
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...citizens. The constitution however does assure that prisoners have basic rights and protections which must be observed. We are all members of the human race and the ethical treatment of everyone, incrassated or free, must continue in order to maintain balance and order in a free democratic society. Incrassation as punishment for committing a crime was rarely used up until the 18 century; instead sentences were normally decided on the spot, usually the accused was either sent to the gallows or set free from lack of evidence. Capital punishment was used regularly and was thought to be a justifiable deterrent to violent crimes in the early years of the United States. Although prisons were some of the first structures built by the early Americans, they were not built as a place intended for punishment of the general population, instead they were reserved for high ranking political figures convicted of crimes, or for individuals in debt or behind in taxes to the government. (Lynch, J. 2007). The Pennsylvania Quakers were one of the first groups to speak out against capital punishment and instead suggested incrassation as an alternate form of punishment. In the years leading up to the American Revolution and especially right after, state after state began reducing the number of death penalty offences and instead the...
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...Understanding Morality Topic: Death Penalty 1. General theory overview Utilitarianism will check the outcome that results from punishing the criminals and whether it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory of social contract is supported by Hobbes. He argues that the state of nature is “the life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” His solution is to come together and agree to a social contract, whose aim is to protect people from harm by others as well as to guarantee all the parties can keep the agreement. Kant says we need to act out of duty of moral rule. When we treat criminals, the only reason to be regarded as praiseworthy must be nothing else than the crime itself. Then we should consider the 1st form of categorical imperatives, which says “act only on the maxim that you can will as a universal law”. Next, we must take the 2nd categorical imperatives into account. It says “always treat humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”. On the retributivist view, legal punishment is justified as a means of making those who are responsible for a crime or harm pay for it. According to the retributivist view, payment must to be made in some way that is equivalent to the crime or harm done. There are two arguments, proportional equivalency and egalitarian equivalency. For proportional equivalency, one is required to pay back something proportional...
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...Define and discuss the classical school of criminology? In particular, address the contributions of Beccaria and Bentham to the debate about punishment and the impact of these contributions in modern corrections? Jennifer Summers Student Number: s2888608 Course: 2007CCJ Course Convenor: Dr John Rynne Course Tutor: Lisa Thomsen Due Date: 4th April 2014 Date Submitted: 4th April 2014 Criminological theories research and investigate a number of social and individual issues pertaining to the causes of crime, law and punishment. Classical criminology refers to a period of time known as the Enlightenment during the 18th century. The classical school was body of ideas with regards to the restructure and reform of punishment in the 18th century (Hyland, Gomez & Greensides, 2003) by a group of European philosophers and scholars, including Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. These two classical thinkers were at the forefront of criminal law and penal reform. This essay seeks to explore the role that Beccaria and Bentham had in the debate about punishment in their time and how their contributions have impacted modern corrections. To understand the contributions that Beccaria and Bentham made to classical criminology, it is fundamental to understand about the social conditions that existed when they were writing. The classical thinkers were rebelling against an arbitrary and corrupt system of law, in which the judges held and absolute and tyrannical power over those...
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...Capital Punishment: Why the Death Penalty is Morally Permissible Karina Morgan April 13, 2010 Professor Mark Reynolds PHI 206 Sec. 04 Word Count: 1,910 Syllogism for Argument: 1. Every human has a right to life 2. But this right is not absolute because a person’s life can be overridden for good reasons 3. So the right of life does not hold in every situation no matter what 4. One of these situations includes taking the life of another innocent human 5. Therefore, it is morally permissible to set the right to life aside, and use the death penalty, if they took the life of an innocent human. Outline I. The Death Penalty -Thesis- Although all humans have the right to life, there are certain situations that can overrule this right, such as taking the life of an innocent human. Since the right of life does not hold in every situation and if an innocent human’s life is taken, then it is morally permissible to set the right to life aside and use the death penalty on the person who committed murder. II. Pro-Death Penalty A. Retribution a. The death penalty is the best way in order to serve justice to convicted murderers of innocent people. b. The families and friends of victims will feel more secure if justice is served. c. There will be no worry about the murderer being able to commit more murders or to have any chance of receiving parole. B. Deterrence b. If the death penalty is continuously used in...
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...Humanity always tried to fix its standards according to different lifestyles. So, abiding by a specific lifestyle imposes certain conditions on humans. In this paper, I will be tackling the topic of torture and how modern civilizations cannot cope with such an idea so disastrous and humiliating to mankind. Justifying the act of torture cannot resemble but an annoying image of humanity. In what’s below, I will argue with and against the practice of torture and will come to a conclusion that no matter what, torture will always reflect negatively on the society as the only way of justifying it is through perfect knowledge of the consequences that no one knows but God. I also considered the scenario of ticket- time bomb because it is considered to be the heaviest argument that justifies torture. So, let’s see how torture isn’t justified. One night, I went into my house and saw a man, on TV, beating a defenceless tied person. The man was actually beating the guy and enjoying the extreme pain he’s suffering from. He even cut the guy’s feet with a butcher’s knife. My whole family was watching the movie. My dad seemed to enjoy the movie. My brother was just shouting for the man and encouraging him to beat the guy further. My mom had no reaction towards what’s happening. And still my sister who looked really annoyed and demanded to change the channel over and over. This gives rise to the question of whether torture should be accepted or not. And does accepting torture imply that it is...
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...“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” said Mahatma Gandhi. The death penalty is unjust and inhuman. Its continued use is a stain on a society built on humanitarian values, and it should be abolished immediately. Many think that there could be nothing wrong with the death penalty as the Indian Constitution allows for capital punishment, which means that the founding fathers of this country must have also fully approved of it. In reality, several members of the Constituent Assembly were firmly opposed to the death penalty. The architect of the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar, admitted in the Constituent Assembly that people may not follow non-violence in practice but “they certainly adhere to the principle of non-violence as a moral mandate which they ought to observe as far as they possibly can.” With this in mind, he said, “the proper thing for this country to do is to abolish the death sentence altogether.” On June 3, 1949, Professor Shibbanlal Saxena, a freedom fighter who had been on death row for his involvement in the Quit India Movement, spoke in the Constituent Assembly of how he had seen innocent people being hanged for murder during his days in prison. Proposing the abolition of the death penalty, he said that the avenue of appealing to the Supreme Court “will be open to people who are wealthy, who can move heaven and earth, but the common people who have no money and who are poor will not be able to avail themselves” of it. Miscarriage of justice is...
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...Jeopardy, Jane wouldn’t be retried for murder, but the attorney could end up with several years to serve. Would it have been worth it then? Possibly, for knowing that he/she did the right thing, but then their life, children’s lives, family and loved ones would end up suffering. It may be worth it though knowing he/she had saved someone’s life. Egoism – The attorney could look at their actions for forging Jane’s signature as a definite way to free her, thereby enhancing their own career as an attorney. Probably a high profile case, getting Jane off without the worry of getting a guilty criminal off would ease their conscience and build their career at the same time. Conversely, if they get caught, they get disbarred and jailed. Utilitarianism – By forging Jane’s signature and getting her off, she’s one less innocent person who has been jailed unfairly thereby lessening the issue of jail over-crowding. One less prisoner also means less tax payer dollars for local tax payers. Deontology – Jane didn’t do anything wrong and only the wrong circumstances are preventing her from staying out of prison. Especially for paying in cash she was foolish for not have gotten a receipt. She was also irresponsible...
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...Death Penalty Imagine yourself as a mother sitting by the window, looking at the swing set in your backyard, remembering memories of your son, an accused murdered now facing the death penalty. You know there must be some mistake. You cannot understand how your son could ever do something so terrible. Imagine yourself next as a father whose daughter was brutally murdered, and whose killer has been sentenced to the death penalty. You desire to push the button that sends the lethal drugs flowing through his veins. The death penalty has been the cause of many emotional, political and ethical debates since its inception. At what point do we as human beings agree or disagree with the Death Penalty if the victim or the offender is a family member? Should the Death Penalty still exist or should we keep offenders on Death Row for life to rehabilitate them? With the Death Penalty in America dating back to Jamestown Virginia in 1608 with the first recorded execution of Captain George Kendall, the question that remains today is, should the Death Penalty be legal? With the Death Penalty still in effect in 34 states, this raises the question, if violent crimes are down in the states that don’t have the Death Penalty why is it still in existence? When an offender commits a violent crime, it is the responsibility of our government to punish the offender, and keep the rest of us safe. There are many factors the government has to consider when sentencing a...
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...The Death Penalty The death penalty is a form of punishment in which a person who has been convicted of a serious crime is executed under the precept of the criminal justice system. The death penalty has been in existence for thousands of years and has gained wide acceptance in the United States since early colonial times. Even those who framed the Constitution specifically the Fifth Amendment approved of it though implicitly (McCord and Latzer 9). Despite the growing acceptance of the death penalty as an appropriate punishment for certain kinds of crimes such as first degree murders, there are still some people who argue against it on certain grounds. The debate as to the justification of the death penalty has raged on for a long time. On one hand, there are those who are of the opinion that the death penalty is a cruel punishment which is morally wrong and a violation of the right to life for its victims. Others defend their opposing views by citing the wave of abolition of other types of corporal punishment such as branding and flogging and propose that imprisonment should also replace the death penalty (McCord and Latzer 9). However, the death penalty has proved to be a punishment befitting certain crimes such as horrific murders as it is the ultimate punishment. It has taken many harmful elements off the streets besides acting as a deterrent for both the convicted criminals and other potential murderers out there. In essence, it has saved many innocent lives that otherwise...
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...Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is when a person is put to death by the state as a result of a crime. Crimes that can result in the death penalty are known as capital offences. The death penalty is a long debated topic across the world. The word capital comes from the Latin word capitalis, which translates to “of the head.” The word refers to the ancient time when beheading was used to as capital punishment for the crimes. Punishment by death is usually reserved for murder, treason, spying, or military justice. Only the mentally competent adults could receive the capital punishment. The process of capital punishment today is very costly. It takes millions of dollars and only a small amount of people are actually executed. The judicial system is not a hundred percent accurate either, therefore innocent lives could be taken. The increase in cost as well as inconsistent executions results in a flawed capital punishment system which should be abolished. The death penalty began in the ancient times when murder, treason, or killing the ruler of an enemy. In the western culture, death penalty laws were established as early as the Eighteenth Century. Britain had heavy influence on America’s use of the death penalty. Each colony’s laws regarding the death penalty differed. The abolitionist movement started during the colonial times. The northeast was soon influenced by the abolitionist movement in the early to mid Nineteenth Century. In 1846, Michigan was the first state in...
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...[pic] BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WITH HONOURS MAY / 2012 MPW2153 MORAL STUDIES MATRICULATION NO : 740704125850-001 IDENTITY CARD NO. : 740704-12-5850 TELEPHONE NO. : 016-3699817 E-MAIL : : madelinaj@maybank.com.my LEARNING CENTRE : SABAH LEARNING CENTRE Tables Of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Drug Laws 2.0 DISCUSSION 2.1 Global Overview on the Status of the Death Penalty for Drug Offences 2.2 The Pros of Death Penalty 2.2.1 Precedent Server 2.2.2 Just Punishment 2.2.3 Society Safety Concerns 2.2.4 Excess Sympathy 2.3 The Cons Of Death Penalty 2.3.1 Wrong Convictions 2.3.2 Costs 2.3.3 Deterrence 2.3.4 Rehabilitation 2.4 Religious Views On Death Penalty 2.4.1 Buddhism 2.4.2 Hinduism 2.4.3 Christianity 2.4.4 Islam 3.0 SUGGESTION TO REPLACE DEATH PENALTY 3.1 Life Imprisonment 3.2 Prison with Parole 3.3 Rehabilitation or Reformatories 3.4 Community Service Orders 4.0 SUMMARY REFERENCE 1.0 INTRODUCTION Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws are made by governments, specifically...
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...seizures of property. The 5th Amendment forbids double jeopardy, which is the act of bringing a person to trial a second time for the same crime (http://www.ushistory.org/gov/10c.asp). It also prevents a person of being convicted or accused of a serious crime without a grand jury investigation. The 6th Amendment also known as the right to counsel is the guarantee that a person accused of a crime have the right to a defense lawyer. The last one is the 8th Amendment which is cruel and unusual punishment. This Amendment prevents someone of suffering cruel and unusual punishment rather it’s a certain type of death penalty or a harsher sentence/punishment than the crime the person committed (http://www.ushistory.org/gov/10c.asp). One example of how the 8th Amendment affected procedures in the courts is, in 1972. Up until then the courts did not challenge the death penalty. In 1972 the case of Furman v. Georgia; the Supreme Court stated that capital punishment was not cruel and unusual punishment, but it has to be carried out in a fair and consistent manner (http://www.ushistory.org/gov/10c.asp). I personally disagree with the way this law has been implemented into the criminal justice system. One reason why is because of the Carr brothers of Wichita, Ks. They murdered 4-5 people cold blooded and got sentenced to life in prison (RON SYLVESTER, The Wichita Eagle, 2012). While Aileen Wuornos murdered a few man because she was raped and she got sentenced to the death penalty (Marlee...
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...“Gun control” is a phrase that means different things to different people. It has been a serious topic of debate that this author now intends to prove as being right or wrong. There is no in-between on this issue. Both sides have received adequate attention and will be treated in an objective manner. For all the attention that gun control has received, there are two basic opinions that are to be discussed. To its proponents, gun control means prevention of crime. This, they say, should lead to peace. Charles Krauthammer wrote about this in “The Washington Post” in an article titled “Disarm The People.” He wrote, “…a civilized society must disarm its citizenry if it is to have a modicum of domestic tranquility…” Pro-gun activists, on the other hand, see gun-control as a threat not only to their self-defense, but also to their Second Amendment right. In an issue of American Survival Guide, Howard J. Fezell wrote an essay: “Your Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms,” during which he made plain this fact: gun-prohibitionists have completely ignored numerous rulings of the Supreme Court in which the Supreme Court has stated the Second Amendment as an individual right, not a collective right. Also, they believe it to be a failed experiment. This is obvious in a statement by David Lampo: “The basic premise of the gun control movement, that easy access to guns causes higher crime, is contradicted by the facts, by history and by reason.” According to statistics, gun bans - the...
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