The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished - 1312 Words

I do not agree with this statement. Given the conditions presented there is no moral reason to continue using the death penalty. In this case the death penalty cannot be said to be optimific (producing the best result) unless you hold the value of justice ahead of the value of society. To argue for this perspective requires an extremely skewed perception of value and if, as I will show, the death penalty provides no tangible benefit to society its use should be discontinued. Consequentialism states â€Å"an action is morally required just because it produces the best overall results† (Shafer-Laundau 121). If we look at the expected results of the death penalty versus its actual consequences then it cannot be said to be optimific. In the†¦show more content†¦If, as the utilitarian argument suggests, the death penalty does not work to deter crime and may in fact increase crime overall then it cannot be said to be producing the best result. As that is the case, there is no moral reason to use the death penalty. By continuing to do so the state is essentially executing people for no reason. Kant would also take issue with the reasoning behind this application of the death penalty. Kant s calls for autonomy and rationality are violated by the utilitarian idea that the value of the death penalty as a deterrent or threat to potential criminals makes it worth enforcing. This could be said to be a manipulation of the populace. Kant would argue that people should not obey the law because they fear the death penalty, but because it is the right thing to do. Kant also called for dignity and respect. What he called â€Å"the principle of humanity: Always treat a human being (yourself included) as an end and never a mere means.† (Shafer-Landau 174). Since this utilitarian argument for the death penalty calls for the deaths of deserving criminals to be used as a deterrent, it does just the opposite. Using the death of anyone (even a criminal) is dehumanizing. Reducing a person to a thing or, worse, a mere symbol. The