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Cons of the Death Penalty
From an ethical perspective, the debate of pros and cons of death penalty presents a dilemma situation. According to ethics, when presented with a situation with an ethical dilemma, the several possible actions are evaluated to establish which alternative will turn out the most happiness (Waluchow, 2003). This happiness of this action is considered in the choice regardless of whether the action taken is morally right or wrong. Therefore, in the case of the death penalty, being sentenced to death is considered a hurting practice that does not bring happiness since it results to death.
According to ethical perspective, capital penalty has the disadvantage of bringing feelings of hurt to the relatives of the convicted person. The execution of the convict leads to a greater extent of a bad experience of bereavement from the victims to the relatives of the convict. This disadvantage is also associated with a problem of the justification of the unethical act of killing brought about by the sentencing. Moreover, the fact that it is a punishment that is done by death, it kills all the benefits of a deterrent penalty. This happens because it applies a method that is against the universal morality of maintaining life (Waluchow, 2003).
Another major disadvantage of capital punishment is that it goes against the ethical concern of respect for human life. According to several religious ethics, life is considered to be precious and should only be taken by natural death and not warranted death (Waluchow, 2003). A death penalty therefore is an indication of a man having an authority to declare life or death of an individual. It is justifiable that a person faces death penalty due to the crime of taking another life; however, it clearly shows that a person is given the mandate to kill. The mandate given by the law to a judge to declare death penalty is legal, but does not erase the fact that it is unethical to kill.
In addition, the death penalty overrides the ethical belief of reform of human character and behavior. This is because the death penalty does not give a chance to the convicted person to reform; it simply condemns him or her to the ultimate punishment of taking away life (Jacquette, 2009). Ethically, people have the ability to reform and shape their behavior in accordance with the law and universal morals and ethics. This means that they deserve to be given a second chance to shape up their life. However, the death penalty denies them that right and also takes away their life from any possible reform (Kramer, 2014).
Moreover, the death penalty is a way of revenging a crime with an equal measure of consequence. Therefore, it is considered as a way of promoting the unethical behavior of revenge and the mythical “eye for an eye” way of thinking (Waluchow, 2003). For ethical perspectives, the death penalty does not fulfill the main element of punishment, which is to create a sense of regret and correct the behavior. This means that the death penalty becomes more inhuman than the crimes committed by the convicted since it is a warranted death.
The death penalty is viewed differently depending on the ethics applied to evaluate the sentence. However, it is disadvantageous to the family and relatives of the convicted, it leads to death of a person, and it does not offer a chance for reform and is a form of revenge. This makes the death penalty an inappropriate mode of punishment.
References
Jacquette, D. (2009). Dialogues on the Ethics of Capital Punishment. Washington DC: Rowman
& Littlefield Pub Incorporated
Kramer, M. (2014). The Ethics of Capital Punishment: A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and
Its Consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Waluchow, W.J. (2003).The Dimensions of Ethics: An Introduction to Ethical Theory.
Peterborough: Broadview Press