The Death Penalty and Utilitarianism

The death penalty has elicited a huge debate in the past. The death penalty is the most
severe punishment that has huge implications on the criminal justice system. The morality of the
death sentence has divided individuals into two groups. The controversy revolves on whether or
not it is moral for the state to carry out executions. On one side of the debate are individuals who
believe that the death sentence is morally justified for certain crimes. On the other side of the
debate are people who feel that the death penalty is immoral and should therefore be abolished.
The morality of the death penalty can be evaluated using utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory that analyzes the ethics of an action
based on its consequences. The morality of an action should thus be based on its net utility. The
end result of any action should be to maximize happiness for the largest number of people. An
action with more benefits than costs is seen as ethical (Udoudom, Idagu, & Nwoye, 2018). The
death penalty has various benefits. It can be used in deterring crime and, in so doing, promoting
happiness in society. Utilitarianism calls on society to apply some degree of pragmatism in
making ethical decisions as opposed to relying on certain universal moral and ethical principles.
One issue associated with this is that it creates a balance between one individual’s life and the
happiness of society at large (Udoudom et al., 2018). In promoting the greatest good for the
greatest number, it is possible to ignore the rights of a single citizen who has been convicted of
certain crimes. The theory also fails to look at alternatives to the death penalty that could have
similar net outcomes.

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One of the consequences of implementing the death penalty is that it is costly compared
to other alternatives used to punish offenders. The financial burden of implementing the death
penalty is high on the taxpayer. The high cost is attributed to the procedural safeguards that have
been put in place when dealing with capital cases to ensure that the risk of wrongful convictions
is reduced (Hoyle & Lehrfreund, 2020). However, from a utilitarian perspective, the cost burden
of implementing the death penalty is insignificant. Critics of the death penalty argue that money
used can be redirected to other projects such as financing the correctional facilities and building
more rehabilitation centers (Udoudom et al., 2018). However, from a utilitarian point of view,
the benefits of the death penalty outweigh the negative consequences, such as cost. Another issue
is the potential loss of the life of an innocent person through wrongful convictions.
Overall, in determining the ethicality of an action using the utilitarian theory, the benefits
must be weighed against the consequences. The benefits of the death penalty include
maintenance of law and order, incapacitation, deterrence, and retribution. In contrast, the
consequences include the potential loss of innocent lives and high costs. Evidently, the benefits
outweigh the consequences. From a utilitarian perspective, the death penalty is ethical as it leads
to the maximization of the happiness of a majority of the population (Shenge & Francis, 2020).
When an offender is killed, members of the community are happy as they will live in a lawful
society. However, the theory leans largely towards pragmatism; as such, the death penalty is
ethical only to the extent that the legal system implementing it ensures equality on the basis of
issues such as socioeconomic status and race. Thus, if the system is inefficient and is
characterized by inequality, it lacks the ethical authority to determine who among its citizens
should live and who should die.

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References

Hoyle, C., & Lehrfreund, S. (2020). Contradictions in judicial support for capital punishment in
India and Bangladesh: utilitarian rationales. Asian journal of criminology, 15(2), 141-
161.
Shenge, M. I., & Francis, T. P. (2020). Capital Punishment: An Ethical Critique Of Js Mill’s
Utilitarian Perspective. Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development, 3(2).
Udoudom, M. D., Idagu, U. A., & Nwoye, L. (2018). Kantian and Utilitarian Ethics on Capital
Punishment. Journal of Sustainable Society, 7(1), 5-11.