Ethical Issues and the Death Penalty Essay Example

egoism is one of the theories that focus on the self as the sole cause of our actions. The theory argues that criminals commit crimes for their own benefits. Believers of ethical egoism support the practice of death penalty, arguing that the individual is ready to face the consequences. Ethical egoism creates the notion of every man for himself. Therefore, the theory appears to support the death penalty, since it is a way of allowing the criminal to be held accountable for their crimes (Van and Conrad, 2013).
Ethical egoism argues that people are selfish, doing what they do so that they can benefit. Regarding the death penalty, criminals do not have the interests of their victims when they assault or harm them. In the same way they fail to consider their safety, the criminals should be willing and ready to suffer their consequences.

Natural Law Theory

The natural law theory denies the moral rightfulness of the death penalty, arguing that it is not in human nature to kill fellow beings. Natural law theory bases its argument from the realization that human beings derive their morality from nature of the world. Also, the morality is derived, in part, from the nature of human beings over history. Therefore, natural law theorists argue that people should believe in what the nature supports and allows rather than make their own laws because they feel the pressure to do so. According to Vaughn (2015), the practice was started as people felt the pressure to punish committers of big crimes such as murder. However, this decision was not instigated by nature but rather by human conception. Therefore, natural law theorists argue that the

death penalty is not morally justified because it defies the nature of human kind to coexist in peace. Instead of the death penalty, the natural law theory proposes other solutions such as creation of peaceful coexistence between people so that the cases of murder and heinous crimes will reduce.

There has been a prevalent division between natural law theorists. The two groups of natural law theorists are the natural law legal theorists and the natural law moral theorists. The later believe that the rightfulness of an action depends on its moral impact. On the other hand, the natural law legal theorists believe that the legal validity of an action does not have to abide to moral conformity rules. Therefore, these two groups of natural law theory would argue over the legal and moral rightfulness of the death penalty (Beim and Kastellec, 2014). In this aspect, the natural law moral theorists would oppose its practice based on the moral impact it has on the society. Still, the natural law legal theorists would oppose it based on the argument that the practice does not offer justice but revenge for the victim and the legal system.

Contemporary List

African Ethics

African countries are among the most opposed to the practice of corporal punishment. African countries adopt the practice from western legal advisories and agreements they make with international bodies for peace and safety. However, African countries are embracing their African ethics and seeking for other methods to punish crime other than death. For example, countries such as Nigeria signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Van and Conrad, 2013). This document was an agreement between member states that they would

not allow death penalties to be issued by their judicial systems. The agreement was partly based on the African ethics theory. The theory proposes more African modes of punishment that promote the wellbeing of the community. Traditionally, Africans used other methods that were also very efficient in punishing crimes and warning others not to engage in crime.

The African countries are known to be among the most cultural. The legal systems of African countries are significantly influenced by their culture. In this regard, the issue of death penalty is receiving much resentment from African traditional leaders who see the practice as a lack of respect for human life. Also, the African ethics theory proposes that punishment by death is not a solution to crime. Instead, the practice has the potential to create enemy among families and clans. The African ethics are a major contributing factor to the statistics on death penalty cases in the continent. According to a report by the Mail and Guardia Africa, about 2,466 people had been sentenced to death in 2014. Out of these, 1168 were from Egypt and Nigeria alone. Hence, the African ethics have played a role in the statistics for death penalty cases in Africa.

Care Based Ethics

Care-based ethics is a proponent of a number of feminists from the late twentieth century. Care-based ethics is a theory based on the principles of maintaining the wellbeing of care givers and care receivers through idealization of the self. Regarding this, the original founders of the theory included carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings (Beim and Kastellec, 2014). Gilligan believed that people were meant to exist by caring for each other and assisting each

other in all issues.

Linking the theory of care based ethics to capital punishment the practice could be termed as morally wrong. Killing another human is interpreted as lack of care for humanity, no matter the cause for the decision. Regarding this, the legal justification of capital punishment is a misplaced priority by the human lawmakers. Killing a criminal violates the accountability they should have to care for even the wrongdoers so as to make a better society. Hence, the best action in the situation would be to place the criminals under prison where they can undergo life changes and become better examples for others.

Conclusion

Corporal punishment is a universal practice in most countries today. The practice has become popularized over time as a punishment of major crimes such as murder and rape. The death penalty has attracted contrasting responses from different theorists and individuals. The moral rightfulness of the practice is questioned by theories that base their arguments on the coexistence of humankind in good terms. According to Beim and Kastellec (2014), proponents of the practice argue on the basis of a balance between good and evil, stressing that good should be punished with good and evil with evil. Other proponents argue that the death penalty is legally justified and a fair punishment for the crimes where it is applied. The legal theories deny that the rightfulness of the practice has anything to do with morals, and that it should be independent from ethical virtuousness.

References

1. Beim, D., & Kastellec, J. P. (2014). The interplay of ideological diversity, dissents, and discretionary review in the judicial hierarchy:
2. Evidence from death penalty cases. The Journal of Politics, 76(04), 1074-1088.