Capital Punishment: Life or death?
Capital Punishment: Life or Death?
Is the death penalty a just form of punishment for criminals or is it “cruel and unusual”? Should we continue to use capital punishment? If so, which forms of execution are acceptable? If not, what punishment is appropriate for, say, a serial murderer? Is it moral and just?
Since 1930, the U.S. justice system has executed a total of 4,863 men and women including 60 inmates in 2005 (see data).
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
In 1972, the Supreme Court deemed death penalty laws unconstitutional, but after adjusting to that ruling, 36 states and the federal government currently allow the death penalty, and as of July 1, 2006 there were 3,366 inmates on death row. (see data).
Before we decide whether or not capital punishment is moral and just, let’s establish the fact that it is legal in the U.S. The Constitution ensures that “No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” (Amendment V). The fact that the government can take one’s life by following proper legal procedures logically leads to the conclusion that capital punishment is constitutional. Many experts claim, however, that the Eighth Amendment nullifies that assertion by outlawing “cruel and unusual punishment” (Amendment VIII). Rightly or wrongly, capital punishment was not unusual at the time of the Founding. Was it considered to be cruel? If so, then why did the Founders insert the word “life” in the due process provision? The death penalty, mistakenly outlawed for a few years in the early 1970’s, is undoubtedly constitutional (Read Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s defense of its legality).
Now, is the death penalty expedient, just, and moral?
Expediency
Contenders on both sides argue either that holding prisoners on death row is too expensive or that the judicial process leading to execution is too costly. While exhorbitant amounts of money may be cause for concern, let me propose that life has no monetary value and therefore when considering the question of capital punishment we should mostly ignore finances.
Justice
What is the purpose of capital punishment? To provide closure for families of victims? To deter crime? To punish offenders of the law? Surely, its main purpose is not to provide closure for families and friends of victims. We are taught to forgive anyone who offends us, and we can receive spiritual and emotional closure through the healing power of the Atonement. Neither is its main purpose to deter crime. If someone steals jeans from The Gap, do we prosecute them simply to warn others not to commit the same crime? No, we punish the offender for breaking the law. We all agree, as participants in a civil society, to obey the laws or be punished by those authorized to do so. In order to provide equal justice, the government must punish all offenders of the law equally according to standards established by the people. While deterrence may be a byproduct of punishing an offender, the main goal is to uphold the rule of law; otherwise, passions, preferences, and subjectivity rule instead of the law.
Morality
Is capital punishment moral? In other words, it may be legal, and we should uphold the rule of law, but should we change the law to abolish it?
In my opinion, scriptural evidence for capital punishment abounds. I will reference only two scriptures: Romans 13:1-5 and D&C 42:19. In Romans, Paul says that the Lord uses rulers who “beareth not the sword in vain…to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” D&C 42 says, “…thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall die,” and it’s not referring to consequences in the next life. You can find other scriptural references to capital punishment here as well: Luke 18:1-8, Romans 1:32, Alma 1:2-18, and D&C 132:19.
I believe that capital punishment is moral and just if we choose to use it, but if we don’t, then that’s fine with me too. The church has stated that it leaves the decision up to the “prescribed processes of civil law” (see church news release), and I also neither promote nor oppose capital punishment and will not resist others’ use of it.
What do you think?
