Research question is whether preserving death penalty in the USA is still possible under modern legal and ethical norms.
Our thesis is that preserving death penalty in the U.S. system of punishments contradicts international legal and ethical norms.
It seems to be impossible to state that the project is started from scratch without author’s bringing his personal ideas, beliefs and assumptions to the table. Our prior belief is that death penalty is a type of punishment, which contradicts basic provisions of all world religions, international ethics and law. To be more precise in legal terms, death penalty is the punishment, aimed at taking away person’s right to life, which is considered to be most important basic human right. Despite the fact that under certain circumstances international law can allow taking person’s life, we are deeply confident that usage of such a punishment is unjust and cannot be applied. My beliefs are based on the fact that I have read and heard lots of stories about convicts, who were proved to be innocent after they spent significant amount of time in prison. If we consider imprisonment, it is still possible to provide the victim of trial with some sort of compensation or at least express feelings related to part of person’s life having been stolen by state’s criminal justice system. In case it appears that a person, who was executed, had never committed the crime he was found guilty of, it is impossible to conduct any kind of restitution. While going through “Death penalty on trial: a handbook with cases, laws and documents” I found diverse examples of cases, when people were found not to be guilty after they have been persecuted (Gershman 43-83)
Furthermore, as a religious person, I cannot help mentioning my inherent belief, which lies in the fact that only God can grant lives and, therefore, only God can take the life away. To my mind, no human being or system, designed by human beings can intervene into these relations between man and God. The way I approached the issue under study before developing working knowledge and after I have considered it, applying multifaceted approach, was not subjected to significant changes as the conclusions I made from studying the literature correlated with my own thoughts and beliefs.
Works cited
Gershman, G.P. Death penalty on trial: a handbook with cases, laws and documents. Santa Barbara: ABC CIO. 2005. Print
Annotated bibliography
Research question is whether preserving death penalty in the USA is still possible under modern legal and ethical norms.
Our thesis is that preserving death penalty in the U.S. system of punishments contradicts international legal and ethical norms.
Bedau, H.A., Cassell P.G. (eds.). Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Case. Oxford: Oxford University Press.2005.Print.
This book can be found in various online libraries, if one enters “capital punishment in the USA” or “death penalty debate in the USA”. For the purposes of my research I use online college library, as well as Questia and Wiley online libraries. Sometimes I make use of search engine Google or Googlebooks service. After having previewed the book in Googlebooks, I found the full version with the help of online library.
Hugo A. Bedau was the Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University, and is best known for his research in the area of capital punishment. In his civic activities Mr.Bedau actively opposed preservation of death penalty in the U.S. After having got his Ph.D. from Harvard University, Mr.Bedau used to teach in Darmouth college, Princeton University and Reed College. In terms of his studies Mr.Bedau elaborated on his own theory of civil disobedience.
Paul G. Cassell is a former judge for the Federal Court of the USA. He received his BA from Stanford University and continued legal studies in Stanford Law School. After having worked in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, P.G. Cassell was nominated for the position of federal judge. In terms of his career he also lectures in several universities.
The value of the book is that thoroughly examines different approaches towards death penalty as capital punishment globally and in the USA in particular. Bringing together seven well-known judges’, prosecutors ‘and philosophers’ opinions, authors aim at answering a range of difficult questions, namely whether death penalty is viable with regard to future crimes or whether life imprisonment can serve justice in case of sever offences. Both first-hand experience –related and statistical evidence are used to support authors ‘ ideas and conclusions.
The book will be really useful for research as it asks right questions and provides the reader with the chance to elaborate on his/her opinion on the topic.
Jacquette, D. Dialogues on the ethics of capital punishment. Lahnham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.2009. Print.
This book can be found in various online libraries, if one enters “capital punishment in the USA” or “death penalty debate in the USA”. For the purposes of my research I use online college library, as well as Questia and Wiley online libraries. Sometimes I make use of search engine Google or Googlebooks service. After having previewed the book in Googlebooks, I found the full version with the help of online library.
The book under study is comprised of three dialogues on ethics of death penalty. The peculiarity of the book lies in the fact that from the issue of death penalty Prof. Jacquette moves reader to considering basic philosophical concepts of life and death, and justice and compassion.
This source’s usefulness for research is called forth by its allowing to consider the issue from the point of view of global philosophical discourse
