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What is the philosophical and ethical response to capital punishment?

The dictionary term for capital punishment is “the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime.”  There is ongoing dispute when regarding the controversial study of Capital punishment. Out of a possible 196 countries in the world only 58 still have legislation o the death penalty, Since 1976 there have been 1226 executions in the US alone. (Independence educational publishers 2011, volume 223 pg 38). This ultimately shows mass diversion over the issue of whether the death penalty is considered right or wrong, Even though there are a higher percentage of countries whom have opted for its abolition, there are still a mass number of countries favorable of it. The countries that still have legible death penalty such as; USA, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Thailand etc., find that it meets its aims of punishment.  There are 6 aims of punishment being; Retribution, Deterrence, protection, reformation and vindication. Retribution is the concept of 'taking revenge', There is an established philosophy that suggests 'an eye for an eye', ultimately suggesting a punishment fit for the committed crime. The Old Testament law of Talion taught this philosophy, however was contradicted when Jesus goes on to tell his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, rather than seeking revenge. Retribution therefore is not consistent with Christian discipleship. (http://www.ndre.co.uk/aims_of_punishment.htm#Retribution) The theory suggests if you take someone’s life, the idea of retribution would be that you ultimately owe that person a life, therefore yours would be taken from you. In theory this philosophy seems fair and applicable, but what about the effect on those authorising and permitting the criminals death, wouldn’t this be contradictory as you are ultimately committing the crime of what the criminal is being executed for-Murder. If we look at Bernard Williams’s analogy of Jim in the Indians, "I could no nothing and let 20 Indians die or I could kill 1 and save 19, but what about the effect on my character? This is ultimately suggesting it would be within the greater good to kill this       person to provide justice and safety to the others, however, what about the effect of character on the person administrating their death. Deterrence is the idea of putting criminals off re-offending for fear of the consequences, For example with the death penalty in place, this may act as a deterrent for other criminals whom have considered murder. This view is consistent with Christian teaching as long as the deterrent is proportionate to the crime. According to Albert Peirrepoint quoted by Amnesty International. I do not believe that any one of the hundreds of executions I carried out has in any way acted as a deterrent against future murder. Capital punishment in my view achieved nothing except revenge." (a punishment to fit the crime, Franklin Watts, pg.21)There is also the open letter to Amnesty International to US president Clinton, 1994 "...death sentences in the USA are imposed disproportionately on the poor; on members of ethnic minorities, on the mentally ill or retarded, and on those without adequate legal counsel." (a punishment to fit the crime, Franklin Watts, pg.21)To further this argument, many people do not think about the consequences of their actions before committing a crime, it is simply out of an act of passion or anger therefore, the idea of capital punishment as a deterrent act would not process in a criminals mind during the act of murder. The aim of protection is the idea that society is protected from the activities of criminals, this can consist of either prison or capital punishment. This idea of 'protection' is compatible with Christian teachings however, when it concerns the issue of the death penalty there is often controversy within the Christian belief. Protection is ultimately the strongest support for capital punishment as it enables the victim’s security and safeness from their offender. A quote that agrees protection works was from Michael Howard, British home secretary 1994 “Researchers have looked at a sample of burglars who had been given a community sentence. They found that if they had gone to prison instead, this would have prevented between 3 and 13 crimes. Per burglar. Per year.” (a punishment to fit the crime, Franklin Watts, pg. 18), proving that there are alternative ways to deal with criminals without permitting capital punishment. To add, what about those who forgive their offender. If we look at the case of Anthony walker whom was brutally murdered in a racially motivated attack, his mother, a believer in Christianity, chose to forgive her sons murderer, therefore, she would be in opposition to the death penalty as she would have no more resentment or bitterness towards her son’s killer. http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/a-mothers-forgiveness-for-her-sons-killers/439.html Christianity teaches "to err is human, to forgive, divine." Alexander Pope (http://christian-quotes.ochristian.com/Forgiveness-Quotes/) Reformation is the concept that imprisonment can allow criminals to reform into law abiding citizens. This view is consistent with the Christian views of repentance for ones sins. If we look at the study of Saul to Paul. Saul had a near death experience which converged him from his vicious threats against the Lords disciples to him changing his name to Paul and spreading Christianity around the world, therefore, Christians would be favourable of the idea of reformation. This idea of punishment would be against capital punishment. There is evidence of criminals reforming as well as there is evidence of them re offending. If we look at the case of James Bulger, who was tortured and killed by Robert Thomson and Jon venables, they received a minimum of 15 years imprisonment for their murder, after their release in 2001 after serving only 8 years due to their age, Venables went on to breach a fundamental condition of his license by visiting Merseyside, he was also taking excessive amounts of drugs and downloading child pornography. In 2008, he was found with a large amount of cocaine and received a caution, In 2010 He returned to prison for “extremely serious allegations” which was suspected to be child pornography. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Bulger). This shows that there is a high risk in allowing criminals to re-enter a civilised society as some are not capable of reform, however, there is evidence that suggests some criminals can reform, if we look at the study of Nicky Cruz, whom was a member of a gang, he converted to Christianity and became a Christian evangelist, proving that ultimately there Is room for reformation and that Capital punishment does not always seize to be the best option. The aim of vindication is the idea that you are permitting the law by punishing those who commit crimes. This aim is a fair strategy and is compatible with capital punishment, as if someone murders another human being, surely by taking their life from them would show equal balance. However, what about the universal idea that killing is wrong? We punish those for murdering another human being but then we make exceptions for issues like capital punishment, which is still ultimately killing another human being, through legal authority. Surely there are other ways to deal with such crimes, such as life imprisonment etc.

If we refer to earlier century capital punishment, the process of legal murder was of much more brutality than what it is today. In England, the punishment for treason was hanging, drawing and quartering, and sometimes the dismembered bod parts were publicised as an act of deterrence, this was abolished in the 19^th century and instead criminals were hung and then beheaded, beheading was usually reserved for the highborn and was last used in 1747, with Lord Lovat. Hanging was the most common form of capital punishment from Saxon times to the 20^th century in Britain, however it was not the only one, in 1401 there was a law that established burning as the penalty for heresy, proving that Christianity was well respected and accounted for in early century Britain. (http://www.localhistories.org/capital.html). If we look at the methods of capital punishment now, there is a mass differentiation of methods.















Capital punishment has arose mass debate amongst different religions.