Capital Punishment through the lens of The Divine Command and Act-Utilitarian Theories (Essay Sample)

Capital Punishment through the lens of The Divine Command and Act-Utilitarian Theories
Name
Institution
General Overview
Defined as “punishment by execution of someone officially judged to have committed a serious or capital crime,” (Vaughn, 2010, p. 292) capital punishment has been utilized in various forms throughout our nation since its founding. In contemporary America, the states that sanction capital punishment generally reserve this ultimate form of retribution for persons found guilty of the crime of murder (Vaughn, 2010, p. 292). However, even within the states that legally permit capital punishment the populace is often divided concerning its moral correctness.
Some have questioned if capital punishment isn’t an ultimate form of judicial hypocrisy, particularly when the defendant is on trial for homicide. For example, most would agree that a guilty verdict presented in a murder trial is a clear declaration that the killing of another human being is an intolerable act. If the previous statement is considered to be true, would it not logically follow that the killing of a condemned criminal, who is also a human being, is likewise an intolerable act? What makes one murder tolerable, and the other murder intolerable?
Others would counter with the fact that a widely publicized study found a definitive correlation between the decline in capital punishment verdicts and a rise in homicides (Weston, 2008, p. 225).This evidence, they suggest, indicates that some murders may well have been prevented if capital punishment sentencing had increased. Furthermore, “the fact that those who are condemned to death do everything in their power to get their sentences postponed or reduced to long-term prison sentences, in the way that lifers do not, shows that they fear death more than life in prison” (Vaughn, 2010, p. 253).Based on this data, would it not be logical to assume that the potential horror of execution could well be a strong deterrent for an individual who is seriously contemplating a capital crime?
Obviously each of the previous perspectives related to capital punishment has merit, and it is the purpose of this paper to weigh the arguments both for and against this complex ethical issue. To further assist with the analysis these arguments I am choosing the following perspective that persons could embrace when considering this topic: The death penalty should be considered as a just and ethical punishment for some capital crimes. I will examine this perspective through the lens of both the Divine Command Theory and the Act-Utilitarian Theory, demonstrating how they each support and challenge this perspective. I will begin my study with the Divine Command Theory.
The Divine Command Theory
Whereas there are many sacred texts representing a variety of religious beliefs that could be selected to address the ethical merits of my stated perspective, I have chosen to use the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible. In doing this I freely and respectfully acknowledge the fact that other religious sacred texts could likewise be utilized and may reach an entirely different conclusion based upon the Divine Command Theory.
“Right actions,” according to this theory, “are those that are willed by God…On this view, God is a divine lawgiver, and His laws constitute morality” (Vaughn, 2010, p.11).Practitioners of the Christian faith are seemingly divided concerning what their sacred text, or divine law, decrees concerning capital punishment. Some, for example, would definitively support the perspective that the death penalty should be considered as a just and ethical punishment for some capital crimes. Advocates of this view may present the following Biblical rationale: Since capital punishment is incorporated into the Mosaic Law (NIV, Exodus 21:12-17), and God’s nature is unchanging (NIV, Malachi 3:6), we can therefore logically assume God is not opposed to capital punishment in this present day.
Looking to the New Testament others may cite teachings from various Biblical texts to substantiate the view that capital punishment is indeed reaffirmed by both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul as a punitive option governmental authority could rightfully select (NIV, Gospel of John 19:10-11; Acts 25:11).According to this analysis, neither Christ nor Paul ever denounced capital punishment as being categorically wrong.
Other Christian believers, however, would be equally as adamant that the Bible stands in strict opposition to capital punishment. As a challenge to the aforementioned perspective some adherents may cite the Biblical teaching in which Jesus seemingly abolished the Old Testament Code and taught one should respond with love toward their enemies, rather than follow the Mosaic Law: “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” (NIV, Gospel of Matthew, 5:38-44). Even though capital punishment is allowed by government, is it truly a “loving” act to send our “enemies” to death by means of execution?
When considering other Old Testament teachings regarding capital punishment, those opposed to this form of reprimand might also recall several Biblical instances where God elected not to institute the death penalty as decreed in the Mosaic Law, even for the crime of murder (NIV, Genesis. 4:11-12 and Second Samuel 12:9-13).These passages unmistakably present the truth that at various times God chooses other means of punishment for capital crimes, ra...