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Many people who oppose the death penalty go back to the beliefs of their enlightened ancestors who preached non-violence and that we should respect human rights and the gift of life. [8] Gandhi also opposed the death penalty and stated that "I cannot in all conscience agree to anyone being sent to the gallows. God alone can take life because he ...
Dulles argues that the Church teaches that punishments, including the death penalty, may be levied for four reasons: [22] Rehabilitation – The sentence of death can and sometimes does move the condemned person to repentance and conversion. The death penalty may be a way of achieving the criminal's reconciliation with God.
Van den Haag also related Marxist theory behind his justification of the death penalty. Marxists, Van den Haag argued, believe that "Legal justice never can do less, though it can do more." [14] Legal justice should distribute punishment equally among violators and more frequently in order to deter crime. [15]
The harshness of the death penalty indicated the seriousness of the crime. Jewish philosophers argue that the whole point of corporal punishment was to serve as a reminder to the community of the severe nature of certain acts. This is why, in Jewish law, the death penalty is more of a principle than a practice.
Rational choice theory, a utilitarian approach to criminology which justifies punishment as a form of deterrence as opposed to retribution, can be traced back to Cesare Beccaria, whose influential treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764) was the first detailed analysis of capital punishment to demand the abolition of the death penalty. [49]
On Crimes and Punishments served as a useful guide to the founding fathers. Beccaria's theories, as expressed in On Crimes and Punishments, have continued to play a great role in recent times. Some of the current policies impacted by his theories are truth in sentencing, swift punishment and the abolition of the death penalty in dozens of ...
In modern India, the death penalty is an exception whereas in ancient India it was a rule. Today, the underlying principle seems to be retributive but in classical India it was a means of deterrence. As of 2023, the law in relation to the death penalty is the same regardless of caste or colour but in ancient India, Brahmins were never subject ...
The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints is a book in the Opposing Viewpoints series. It presents selections of contrasting viewpoints on the death penalty : first surveying centuries of debate on it; then questioning whether it is just; whether it is an effective deterrent; and whether it is applied fairly.