Ethical Issues In Capital Punishment

The criminal justice strategy of capital punishment presents ethical issues and moral debates when investigated through the lens of those with differing religious, social and political beliefs. To understand this ethical dilemma, the place of the death penalty within a modern context must be questioned. As well as the investigation of both the positive and negative impacts of capital punishment, and when it is moral for a state to justifiably deprive someone of their life or liberty. The interpretation of true societal justice and the value of a human life creates division between communities, but also within the bounds of a religion such as Christianity. One adherent of the Christian faith stated “Given that every life is of value, I don’t

Contrastingly, a Christian form a Pentecostal denomination detailed “I believe that there are some crimes and some people that there really isn’t any hope for them, and I think as a protection against other innocent people in society I think the most humane thing, potentially for that person and for other people in society, would be capital punishment” (O'Donnell, 2018). This perspective focusses more on the Levitical law of the Old Testament, which commonly communicates the idea of righteous punishment for sins with death. It can also be seen that in most cases there is a division of opinion within each Christian denomination or a progression of viewpoints in relation to the topic of capital punishment. The Catholic Church historically argued that peace in society was more important than reforming the sinner but has now reconstructed their and takes an anti-death penalty stance, stating “Each of us is called to respect the life and dignity of every human

Adherent’s views on this ethical issue are based upon the teachings of the Quran, which commonly promotes the concept of retribution and deterrence. At 6:151 it states “Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus, does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom” (BBC, 2009). In countries in which the religious traditions of Islam are combined with the actions of the state, there is a zero-tolerance policy for the breaking of religious codes and traditions. It can be recognised that the probability that the death penalty will be phased out is extremely low, as it goes not against the government, but the religious beliefs of the people. Although, in modern times there is an increasing number of Muslims who support the abolition of the death penalty. This is a result of alternative interpretations of Quranic verses which address capital punishment, as well as concerns that governments utilise this religious belief to exploit the system of the death penalty for reasons such as the elimination of actual and potential government enemies and to disseminate fear in societies, while also encouraging a superficial sense of security (Mumisa & Habbash, 2015). Therefore, adherents of the Islamic faith support the concept of capital punishment in its most