Capital Punishment and Torture Essays - 2191 Words

Capital punishment is not a morally acceptable practice because the process has come to represent a form of torture in our modern society and therefore, should not be seen as an acceptable form of punishment for any criminal act. The goal of a punishment is to properly reprimand the criminal so justice is served in regard to the victim. This can be achieved without violating our moral standards through the use of punishments which sufficiently punish the offender while still doing right by the victim. Capital punishment may be the most just option of retribution when punishing a murderer, but it serves as an injustice to the persons who must carry out the duty and has also become a torturous experience for the offender. Cesare†¦show more content†¦This cannot be maintained in all cases, as such with rape and torture. These crimes must be addressed with something which the punishment, even if it does not fit the crime exactly, matches it in respect to severity (Kant 145) . Kant holds the belief that â€Å"whoever has committed murder, must die... [for] there is no likeness or proportion between life, however painful, and death† (Kant 145). Saying this, Kant also acknowledges that â€Å"[the criminal’s] death, however, must be kept free from all maltreatment that would make the humanity suffering in his person or abominable† (Kant 145). This is an important point which needs to be explored and, in turn, establishes the second leg of the argument; punishments must remain within the moral boundaries established in the society. Jeffrey H. Reiman deliberates on this topic in his work Justice, Civilization, and the Death Penalty. Reiman begins with the supposition that the retributive theory is correct. The retributive theory, as previously established by Kant, supports justice through lex talionis and that the victim has a right to this justice, but does not explain to what extent this right should be exercised (Reiman 599). Reiman expresses â€Å"this is a separate moral question because strictShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment Is A Form Of Torture971 Words   |  4 PagesCapital punishment is nothing new; executions have taken place for centuries. Capital punishment is utilized throughout the world. Thirty-six countries currently use the death penalty in law and practice. One hundred and three countries have abolished the death penalty completely. Whereas, six countries currently retain the death penalty for special circumstances, such as war crimes (CIA World Factbook). Whether capital punishment is an effective measure to curb future violent crimes is still debatedRead MoreCapital Punishment : An Ultimate Torture Method Essay1352 Words   |  6 Pages Capital punishment has been used as a penalty for criminal behavior for many years; however, its’ utilization has not been constant throughout American history. The basis of capital punishment has undergone a number of changes and improvements in the past, essentially alternating in and out of public favor. At its’ start, capital punishment was ultimately used as a means of torture. Criminals were bludgeoned, boiled, burned, torn apart by animals, etc.—it was an ultimate torture method. ThroughoutRead MoreCrime and Punishment in Elizabethan England788 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the Elizabethan Era, crime and punishment was a brutal source of punishments towards criminals. The term â€Å"crime and punishment† was a series of punishments and penalties the government gave towards the people who broke the laws. In William Harrison’s article â€Å"Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England†, says that â€Å"the concept of incarcerating a pers on as punishment for a crime was a relatively novel at the time† (1). This seemed reasonable at the time, because back then they didn’t sentenceRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Capital Punishment1689 Words   |  7 Pages Abstract Capital punishment is the execution of criminals for the crimes they committed. This paper explores three reasons as to why capital punishment is wrong and should be abolished. One downfall to capital punishment includes the risk of taking an innocent life such as Cameron Todd Willingham who was wrongfully convicted in 1992 and executed in 2004. There is also a risk of having a botched execution. A mistake might be made during the procedure, making it long and painful for the prisonersRead MoreIs Capital Punishment Immoral? Essay1525 Words   |  7 PagesIs Capital Punishment Immoral? In a Kantian world with moral laws, capital punishment does not seem to be a theoretical solution for punishing murders. But when someone does commit murder those individuals render their rights, and henceforth would acknowledge their action with consequences, such as capital punishment. Jeffrey H. Reiman presents various arguments against the use of capital punishment with no adequate evidence of effectiveness, but I disagree. Capital punishment is a reasonableRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Immoral1521 Words   |  7 Pagesher to oppose death penalty is immoral as. Firstly, it is a torture. Secondly,, it does not work out as a deterrent. Thirdly, and it costs more than life imprisonment. Finally, only the poor sentenced to death. She believes that the death penalty is immoral as it is a torture, it does not work out as a deterrent and it costs more than life imprisonment. However, I disagree with her argument, because death penalty is not seeing as a torture in history, Super Court and those criminals deserve the retribution;Read MoreElizabethan Crime And Punishment Of The Elizabethan Era1363 Words   |  6 PagesElizabethan Crime and Punishment On a normal day during the Elizabethan Era you would pass the town square to find someone screaming bloody murder and begging for mercy. There were public executions that many people took a day off of their jobs to go see. Torture devices were a big part of Elizabethan Crime and Punishment. There was a specific punishment for everything from begging to high treason. If a peasant stole anything worth more than five pence, which was the currency of the time periodRead MoreDiscipline and Punish the Birth of Prsions1071 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Discipline and Punish the Birth of Prisons† goes beyond the walls of the prison system. Foucault gives a detailed description of the transition of discipline and punishment beginning in the seventeenth century. Foucault begins with insight into the tortures forms of punishment common in the seventeenth century. The torture involved prisoners being placed on a scaffold while holding a two pound torch of burning wax. There the flesh w ould be torn from their body with hot pincers before their bodiesRead MoreBeccaria s Of Crimes And Punishment1317 Words   |  6 Pagessummary of Cesare Beccaria’s ‘of crimes and punishment’ was best said in a statement by Beccaria himself which was ‘In order that any punishment should not be an act of violence committed by one person or many against a private citizen, it is essential that it should be public, prompt, necessary, the minimum possible under the given circumstances, proportionate to the crimes, and established by law. (Beccaria, C. 2003 pg. 24) Beccaria’s theory was that punishment should only be used to prevent an offenderRead MoreCapital Punishment Deters Crime?876 Words   |  4 PagesThe question that it seemed to be taken into consideration is whether capital punishment deters crime? There are two types of deterrence theories that are stretched across statistical studies in the law of criminology. The first notable theory is kno wn as â€Å"specific deterrence† it is exercised in order to stop a criminal offence from occurring in the future. The theory evaluates that when punished for an unlawful offence it is less likely of the perpetrator to commit the crime again. Another crucial