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SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED?

SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED?. THE ISSUE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Christopher Ullman Ethics. SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED?. TOPICS TO CONSIDER: Theories of punishment Arguments for capital punishment Arguments against capital punishment

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SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED?

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  1. SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED? THE ISSUE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Christopher Ullman Ethics

  2. SHOULD ANY PERSON DIE FOR A CRIME S/HE COMMITTED? • TOPICS TO CONSIDER: • Theories of punishment • Arguments for capital punishment • Arguments against capital punishment • Evaluating the objections • FOOD FOR THOUGHT • Televised executions? • Torture: is it ever an option to consider?

  3. Theories of punishment • Retribution (the Deserts Theory) • Goal: To discipline the wrongdoer for the crime to the degree of severity that fits the crime • Utilitarian (the Results Theory) • Goals: To punish to accomplish a purpose • To deter crime • To protect society • To rehabilitate the criminal

  4. Theories of punishment (continued) • Restitution (the Compensation Theory) • Goal: To pay back or compensate the crime victim(s) • Question: Is there room in any of the theories for the death penalty? • The Deserts Theory: • The Results Theory: • The Compensation Theory:

  5. Arguments FOR Capital Punishment • 1. “It’s not torture . . .” • 2. “Execution alone satisfies the need for justice.” • 3. “The ultimate crime demands the ultimate punishment.” • 4. “The death penalty deters others and stops the criminal from striking again.”

  6. Arguments FOR Capital Punishment • 5. “Rehabilitation is not possible in some cases.” • 6. “Some criminals want to be executed.” • 7. “The victim’s family demands revenge, or at least closure.” • 8. “To murder a human is to destroy one made in the image of God. Murder, therefore is in a category all its own.”

  7. Arguments AGAINST Capital Punishment • 1. “Capital punishment imposes suffering not only on the criminal but also on his executioners.” • 2. “The death penalty is irrevocable.” • 3. “The nature of the death penalty distorts the justice system: • It’s not swift. • It imposes obsessive fear on the condemned.”

  8. Arguments AGAINST Capital Punishment • 4. “The State is a teacher. How can the State teach its citizens that death by execution is an acceptable and necessary function of the State, while protecting life in all of its other capacities?” • 5. “Death penalties do not deter violent crime.” • 6. “Death penalties are unequally enforced on the poor and minorities.”

  9. A Key Consideration • Is our opposition to capital punishment • An objection to the ways in which C.P. currently takes place? • This would be a “what-ness” objection • “It’s what actually happens that bothers me” • An objection to C.P. in all forms? • This would be a “that-ness” objection • “I object to the very idea that anyone should be executed for a crime, regardless of what actually happens.” • What-ness objections can be resolved by changing the ways in which C.P. takes place

  10. Scriptures the Retentionist Uses • Genesis 9:6 • Numbers 35:30 • Deuteronomy 19:21 • Ezekiel 18:11-13 • Romans 13:3-4 • Acts 25:10-11 • A few examples of specific directives • Exodus 21:12-16 • Exodus 22:18-20 • Leviticus 20:9-21 • Leviticus 24:10-17

  11. Matthew 5:38-39 Romans 6:14 John 13:34 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 2 Peter 3:9 Romans 12:19 A few examples of mercy instead of capital punishment John 8:3-8:11 Philemon 10-18 Genesis 4:14-15 Scriptures the Abolitionist Uses

  12. Points to Ponder • Mosaic specific capital crimes are • Not required in our legal code • Instructive in assessing levels of non-capital punishment (at least) • Genesis 9:6 predates the Mosaic Code • C.P. for premeditated murder based on imago Dei • Corporate ethics differ from personal ethics • Governments are to be God’s ministers of judgment

  13. Questions • Can a pro-life person be in favor of capital punishment? • Is capital punishment required? • Is capital punishment prohibited? • Is capital punishment permitted? • What is a procedural abolitionist? • What is the point of the 8th Amendment? • What is the best-bet argument?

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