PHI 115 Chp. 18: Capital Punishment

As of April 2017, the number of prisoners on death row in the United States was

2,843.

In 2016, not counting China, what percentage of total worldwide executions took place in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Pakistan combined?

87 percent

Which of the following thinkers accepts retributivism?

Immanuel Kant

Which of the following countries has officially abolished, or stopped using, the death penalty?

Mexico

Retentionists say that the death penalty protects society from repeat criminals better than any other form of punishment.

True

Those who support the death penalty are called

retentionists.

The main nonconsequentialist argument for the death penalty is based on what theory of punishment?

retributivism

A Kantian is likely to argue that sentencing murderers to life in prison without parole creates more net happiness in society than executing murderers would.

False

A utilitarian abolitionist is likely to argue that the death penalty is wrong because it violates basic moral principles.

False

Abolitionists have argued that even if the death penalty is a more severe punishment than life in prison, that does not mean the death penalty deters murderers better.

True

What is a common retentionist reply to the abolitionist claim that if the death penalty discriminates against blacks, it is unjust?

Unjust administration of a punishment does not entail the injustice of the punishment itself.

Those who wish to eliminate capital punishment are called

abolitionists.

Louis Pojman, in supporting the idea of the death penalty as a form of deterrence, appeals to

common sense.

Utilitarian retentionists can argue for the death penalty by claiming that it brings about a greater net happiness through

deterrence of future crime.

The act of killing (1) with premeditation; (2) while performing a major crime (felony) such as armed robbery, kidnapping, or rape; or (3) involving particular egregious circumstances such as the deaths of several people or of a child or police officer is generally known as

first-degree murder.

The two primary forms of justification for punishment are

that one deserves the punishment and that it will bring about good consequences for society.

An abolitionist response to the claim that the death penalty deters future crime might be that

the evidence for deterrence is very weak.

In Ernest van den Haag's argument that the death penalty is an acceptable punishment even without clear evidence that it deters future crime, he claims that it is better to risk

the lives of convicted murderers than those of innocent people.

The Supreme Court declared that mandatory death sentences are

unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court has held that the execution of mentally disabled persons is

unconstitutional.