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CHAPTER 18 Capital Punishment
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Background and Facts about Capital Punishment
A. Abolitionists and Retentionists
B. Punishment and Capital Punishment
II. Moral Theories and Capital Punishment
A. Utilitarian: Prevention (Retentionist)
B. Utilitarian: Deterrence (Retentionist)
C. Utilitarian: Net Happiness (Abolitionist)
D. Utilitarian: Costs (Abolitionist)
E. Nonconsequentialist: Value or Dignity of Human Life (Abolitionist)
F. Nonconsequentialist: Retributivism (Retentionist)
G. Nonconsequentialist: Respect for Persons (Retentionist)
III. Moral Arguments about Capital Punishment
A. Capital Punishment as Unjust Punishment
B. Capital Punishment as Unjust Administration
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The deliberate and authorized causing of pain or harm to someone thought to have broken a
law is known as
a. vigilantism. c. legalism.
b. punishment. d. attributivism.
2. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that if a jury were to impose the death penalty without any legal guidance, the practice would
constitute
a. a legal prerogative. c. a legal precedent.
b. deserved punishment. d. cruel and unusual punishment.
3. A man does not plan to kill his wife and has no intention of doing so, but one night he becomes enraged at her for insulting him, and
he stabs her to death. He would therefore be guilty of
a. second-degree murder. c. third-degree murder.
b. manslaughter. d. first-degree murder.
4. A common utilitarian argument in favor of capital punishment is that the death penalty
a. prevents the criminal from striking again.
b. reduces the severity of crimes.
c. makes the general public feel safe.
d. is endorsed by all religions.
5. Suppose there is strong scientific evidence showing that the execution of criminals deters
serious criminal behavior better than lesser punishments such as imprisonment. This data
would suggest that the deterrence argument is
a. weak. c. irrelevant.
b. strong. d. logically sound.
6. A utilitarian who wants to argue against the death penalty might be expected to say that
a. capital punishment has a civilizing effect on society.
b. more net happiness is created in society by executing criminals than by sentencing them to life in prison without parole.
c. life in prison without parole is not a better deterrent than capital punishment.
d. more net happiness is created in society by sentencing murderers to life in prison without parole than by executing them.
7. Suppose a utilitarian abolitionist argues that the death penalty is too costly to implement in a democratic society. A plausible
nonconsequentialist reply is that
a. the death penalty is indeed too costly and should be abolished.
b. if the death penalty is a just punishment, then the costs involved don’t matter.
c. justice doesn’t matter; only cost does.
d. more net happiness is created by getting rid of the death penalty.
8. Consider these two premises in a well-known argument: (1) everyone has a right to life
(a basic moral principle), even hardened criminals; (2) the death penalty is a violation of this
right. The conclusion to this argument is
a. executing criminals is wrong.
b. executing criminals is permissible.
c. executing criminals is costly.
d. executing criminals generates less happiness than life in prison.
9. Delma Banks Jr. was charged with murder; his lawyer failed to vigorously cross-examine an
informant testifying against Banks or to investigate the case. Consequently, Banks may not
have received a fair trial because of poor representation. If so, a retentionist would argue that
the injustice in the conduct of the trial would
a. show that capital punishment was also unjust.
b. be irrelevant to the justice or injustice of capital punishment.
c. be relevant to the injustice of capital punishment.
d. be strong evidence against the death penalty.
10. Suppose a friend of yours says that she’s glad a murderer was recently sentenced to the gas
chamber, because murderers deserve to die. Her comment implies that she accepts the
________ theory of punishment.
a. utilitarian c. retributive
b. deterrence d. preventive
11. Consider this assertion, common in debates on capital punishment: the unjust administration of
a punishment does not entail the injustice of the punishment itself. This view is most likely
espoused by
a. abolitionists. c. retentionists.
b. utilitarians. d. natural law theorists.
12. The issue of forgiving a criminal (for example, commuting a death sentence to life in prison)
forces us to confront a contradiction between mercy (giving someone a break) and
a. justice (giving someone what he deserves).
b. utility (giving someone what will make him happy).
c. love (giving someone unconditional acceptance).
d. fallibility (the tendency to err).
13. The idea that the punishment should match the crime in kind—that justice demands “an eye
for an eye, a life for a life”—is called ________.
a. abolitionism c. proportional retributivism
b. paternalistic retributivism d. lex talionis
TRUE/FALSE
1. For many retentionists, the only necessary justification for the type and degree of punishment
is what the criminal deserves.
2. Most retentionists believe that, in a large majority of cases, wrongdoers should not be
punished at all.
3. A man plans to kill his wife, waits for the right opportunity, and does the deed. He would
therefore be guilty of first-degree murder.
4. Suppose the state of Ohio wanted to execute a boy who was fifteen when he murdered his
parents. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, such an execution would be unconstitutional.
5. Evidence conclusively shows that the death penalty is recognized by would-be criminals
as a more severe punishment than life in prison. It therefore follows that the death penalty
indubitably deters murderers better than life in prison does.
6. Some argue that the death penalty could encourage violent crime instead of deterring it,
that violent criminals who know they are likely to get the death penalty may commit murder
to avoid being captured. This argument is put forth by utilitarian abolitionists.
7. A study released in 2014 suggests that an untold number of innocent people have been
executed since 1973. Retentionists would reply to these statistics by insisting that this does
not show anything intrinsically wrong with capital punishment, but only how it is administered.
8. Underpinning many retributive views of capital punishment is a Kantian emphasis on
respect for persons.
9. Some retentionists contend that if the administration of the death penalty is biased against
blacks, then the death penalty itself is unjust, because there is no way to apply the death
penalty fairly.
SHORT ANSWER
1. Those who oppose capital punishment are known as ________.
2. ________ are those people who want to continue the policy of capital punishment.
3. Punishment by execution of someone officially judged to have committed a serious crime
is called ________.
4. The view that offenders deserve to be punished, or “paid back,” for their crimes and to be
punished in proportion to the severity of their offenses is known as ________.
