Is Capital Punishment Morally Justifiable Essay

Is Capital Punishment Morally Justifiable - Essay Example The textbook says that "Moral questions usually involve a range of different issues, which do need to be distinguished from each other in order to be effectively treated." (Gascoigne, p. 200). Thus in this section we will define the exact questions concerning capital punishment we are going to discuss, and we will define the reasons for the death penalty we consider to be worth of discussing. The dilemma whether capital punishment is legitimate is in fact the question whether the society has the right to commit the deed it punishes its members for. In this essay we are going to deal with the death penalty that is given to the criminals who took the lives of other people intentionally. We are not going to consider the political causes for the capital punishment, as we presume that murdering a person who hasn't committed similar crime himself or herself is unjustified a priori. We are going to discuss a question of whether the death penalty is an adequate punishment for murder and sexual assault, and whether the society has the right to take the life of its members intentionally. Our main question here is whether the society has the right to legalize murder in order to deter potential criminals by the consequences of their deeds, and to take a revenge for the victim's sufferings. We should decide whether the existence of the capital punishment in our society conforms to th e principles and ideals the members of this society declare they share. 2. Knowledge "We cannot develop a relevant moral norm unless we have detailed and specific knowledge of the situations in which this norm is intended to guide us." (Gascoigne, p.201). Thus in this section we have to get acquainted with the recent findings in the criminology of murder and talk about the types of murder that sometimes result in death penalty for people who commit them. There is some kind of psychological barrier in most of us engrafted by the society that doesn't allow us to take the life of other human being. The theory exists among some psychologists that when a person kills a man, this barrier is broken. In their opinion this is the main reason for which the criminals are isolated from society. Whether we agree with this theory or not, we should accept that a murderer is a person who has some alterations in his/her psychic, and he/she should be treated accordingly. An opinion exists that it is society that is guilty for the deeds of the criminals, as they are the products of its upbringing. It's true that the considerable part of people who committed violent crimes had suffered some form of abuse during their childhood years. The psychologists say that being violent becomes a normal path of action for those kids, and when they grow up, they continue to use this demeanor, as it proves its effectiveness to them. The statistics shows that most murders aren't planned and cruel ones; they rather happen in the state of affect within the family, among friends or lovers. There are also carefully planned murders committed for to allow the criminals to reach some of their goals. Some of the murders and assaults that happen are unprovoked, when the victim and the criminal don't know each other. An opinion exists that capital punishment is an effective method for crime prevention as it deters the potential criminals, but it's not supported by the statistical data. The thing is that in the countries, which abolished death penalty, the level of