The Morality of Capital Punishment

Capital punishment is a form of punishment where a convicted offender is executed
for committing a crime. Capital punishment is a serious form of punishment that is reserved
for serious crimes, including murder. The topic has raised a huge debate over the years. On
one side, proponents argue that capital punishment is moral since the state has a
responsibility to ensure that criminals who commit serious crimes such as murder get a
justified punishment. On the other side, opponents feel that punishing offenders by executing
them violates their right to life. The morality of the death sentence has remained deeply
controversial and has elicited divided opinions over the years. The research question addressed
in the essay is: “Is capital punishment morally permissible as a punishment for certain
crimes?”. The paper weighs in on the topic by focusing on both sides of the debate.
Article in Support of the Death Sentence Being Moral
The article is a newspaper article that is written by British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC). The article describes the major arguments in favor of capital punishment. The article
covers important points raised in support of the death penalty and centers on key issues such
as retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation. The article also covers counteragents raised
against these arguments.
Premise One: Criminals guilty of committing various crimes deserves to be punished (BBC,
2014).
Premise Two: The punishment awarded should be in proportion to the severity of the crime
committed (BBC, 2014).
Premise Three: Capital punishment is the only punishment proportional to various crimes
such as murder (BBC, 2014).

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Conclusion: Therefore, capital punishment is morally permissible.
Evaluation of the Quality of Reasoning
The argument raises valid points in relationship to the foundation of punishment. The
court systems award punishments that are in line with the crime committed. In the first
premise, the article supports the existence of punishments (BBC, 2014). Punishments exist to
ensure that criminals get punished for various acts that are outside the law. The second
premise supports the view that punishments are awarded based on the level of severity of the
crime committed. The third premise implies that capital punishment is a reserve of people
who commit very serious crimes.
For the three premises to hold, two assumptions need to hold. The first assumption is
that the death sentence is the only punishment that is proportionate to serious crimes such as
murder. The second assumption is that courts need to be fair and free of any error. For
example, assuming that life imprisonment as a punishment is proportionate to crimes such as
murder, premise three would be false, and this would also render the conclusion to be false.
In addition, errors in the judicial system that would result in an innocent person being handed
a guilty verdict would render premise one to be false. The implication is that innocent people
could be handed a guilty verdict, and the result would be the execution of innocent people.
The argument’s conclusion would thus be false.
The website fails to research other forms of punishment that could be handed down to
criminals who commit violent acts. The authors fail to make reference to studies done on the
same in order to build a strong case in support of the death sentence. In stating that the death
sentence is valid as a punishment for various crimes, the website fails to examine the gravity
of these crimes. The argument could therefore be strengthened by in-depth research into the
same as well as a comparison of the death sentence against various forms of punishment.

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Article Opposed to the Death Sentence
Jennifer Lackey has written an article published by the USA today on why capital
punishment should be banned. In her article, she examines the case of one of her former
students named William Peeples Jr. William had been found guilty of killing his next-door
neighbor. However, since he was a minor, he had was not executed owing to a judgment that
prohibited the execution of minors. William had managed to turn his life around.
Premise One: William Peeples Jr., a minor who had been found guilty of murder, was able to
turn his life around (Lackey, 2020).
Premise Two: Since minors convicted of serious crimes can reform, adults can also reform
(Lackey, 2020).
Premise Three: The court ruling that barred the state against executing minors should also
extend to adults (Lackey, 2020).
Premise Four: The death sentence is irreversible since, once handed down, it denies one the
ability to reform (Lackey, 2020).
Conclusion: The death sentence should be banned.
Evaluation of the Quality of the Argument
The argument is founded on a practical case of a minor who had managed to turn his
life around. Although the minor was guilty of committing murder, he had managed to reform
into a law-abiding citizen. The argument suffers from one critical flaw. The argument is
based on the assumption that since minors can reform, adults can also reform. The law does
not treat minors and adults equally. Premise two is, therefore, false since it assumes that both
adults and minors are equal in respect to their ability to reform. The article cites the Supreme
Court ruling in Roper v. Simmons that stated that it is unconstitutional for juveniles to be

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awarded the death penalty (Lackey, 2020). The author does not justify why the ruling should
be extended to adults. The author also writes the argument made by Justice Anthony
Kennedy that stated that juveniles have a problem defining their identity. A crime committed
by a juvenile can therefore not be seen as evidence of a broken character. The argument made
by Justice Kennedy was made with respect to minors. If an adult has an irretrievably
depraved character, premises three and four would be false, and this would also render the
conclusion to be false.
The article also fails to cite the cases it alludes to. It also fails to deeply analyze other
factors that could surround a murder. For example, a serial killer and a person who has
committed a single crime cannot be treated equally. To this end, the argument is weak.

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References

BBC. (2014). Arguments against capital
punishment. https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/against_1.shtml
Lackey, J. (2020, December 12). My college student’s transformation provides best
argument for abolishing death penalty. USA
TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2020/12/12/my-
students-transformation-provides-best-argument-against-death-
penalty/6514937002/