Punishment

Running head : CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

NAMES

AFFILIATION

COURSE

TUTOR

DATE

Abstract

Capital punishment is also referred to as the death penalty . It is execution of a convicted criminal as a punishment for an awful crime that has been committed and is often called a capital offence or a capital crime . The ethical issue concerning capital punishment involves determining whether the execution of criminals is ever justified , and if so under what circumstances it is permissible . This makes the death penalty a of debate that creates

a divided nation over the subject . Religious beliefs , human feelings and justice laws all come into play when discussing the

Introduction

History of the death penalty

The word "capital " in "capital punishment " referred to a person 's head In the past , people were often executed by severing their head from their body . Surveys in the US and Canada regularly show that support to capital punishment appears to increase over time when people perceive the crime rate as increasing

Historically , the judicial execution of criminals was a phenomenon of nearly all societies , and it was often also used as a means to suppress dissents . Most democratic countries around the world , most Western and Latin Americans have abolished capital punishment . Some United States and democracies in Asia and Africa retain it . Some non-democratic countries , use of the death penalty because they see it as a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment . The opponents argue that life imprisonment is an equally effective deterrent . Statistical studies have failed to show either argument to be true . In most places that practice capital punishment today , the death penalty is reserved as a punishment for certain murders , espionage , or treason or part of military justice

In militaries , courts-martial have sentenced capital punishments also for cowardice , desertion , insubordination , and mutiny . In some majority-Muslim countries , certain sexual crimes , including adultery and sodomy , carry the death penalty . In many countries , drug trafficking is also a capital offense . In China , human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are also punished by the death penalty . Therefore the incorporation of the death penalty into a system of punishment remains tentative for discussion and can only be justified by the theories of punishment . This looks into the justifiability of capital punishment by assessment of forms of justice

Justifiability Of Capital Punishment

Incapacitation

This is the act of making someone lead a normal life , which mainly depends on differentiating between justifying individuals ' punishment and the system of punishment . It may also depend on differentiating between theoretical and practical measures regarding punishment . In accordance with Montague on Punishment as Societal-defense theoretically the morality of capital punishment affects the relevance of the death penalty in a system of punishment

Difference between individual punishment Justification and the systems of punishment

If a life is to be risked then it ought to be one for a guilty individual rather than for an innocent potential victim . In accordance with Montague on justifiability of death penalty , if a justified system of punishment...