People are born into different beliefs systems and therefore form opinions on worldly controversial topics very differently as well. For example, the death penalty stirs controversial debate all around the world. Death penalty also known as capital punishment is defined as the practice of executing an individual as punishment for a specific crime after conviction by a court of law. In the Unites States, the death sentence is legal in 32 states, with Texas holding the highest of these rates. The total number of executions in the US since 1976 is 1419, with only 16 of those being women (Death Penalty Info. Center). Kelly Renee Gissendaner, on death row for 16 years, was executed on September 30th, 2015 making her the most recent woman who was subject to capital punishment. She was convicted in 1998 of recruiting her lover to kill her husband, Doug …show more content…
So when a person 'thinks ethically' they are giving at least some thought to something beyond themselves. Since we have developed an instinct to protect our own kind, the morals we form should be based upon what is good for us individually as well as the well being of all other humans. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, stated that, “every naturalism in morality – that is, every healthy morality – is dominated by and instinct of life; some commandment of life is fulfilled by a determinate canon of “shalt” and “shalt not”; some inhibition and hostile element on the path of life is thus removed” (349). This means that for someone or some act or idea to be considered truly moral, it must promote life. When referring to capital punishment in this sense, it can definitively be labeled as immoral. If moral values consist of ideas that advocate for the preservation and betterment of life, than how can we, as a country, say that we are making an ethical decision concerning maintaining capital punishment if ethics are founded on