Ethics of Capital Punishment: Judge or Jury? A PHI 208 Analysis

This essay delves into the ethical question of whether capital punishment decisions should be at the discretion of a judge or a jury. The introduction provides a historical overview of capital punishment, highlighting the roles of judges and juries in analyzing cases and determining appropriate punishments. The essay then explores utilitarianism as an ethical theory, explaining its core principles of maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering for all involved. The application section analyzes how utilitarianism can be used to evaluate the moral justification of capital punishment, emphasizing the need for a cost-benefit analysis by judges and juries to determine the impact of the death penalty on society. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering the consequences of actions when making decisions about capital punishment, based on the utilitarian framework.

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Civil Law
Luis Barriga
PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning
Prof. Ephraim Janssen
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Table of Contents
Ethical Question...............................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Explanation of Ethical theory..........................................................................................................4
Application of Ethical Theory.........................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
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Ethical Question
Should capital punishment be at the discretion of a judge or a jury?
Introduction
Capital punishment refers to the death penalty that can be stated as the accomplishment of an
offender sentenced to death after the conviction of court. It is a rule-governed procedure in which
warrant execution is the conclusion for the person who stands responsible for going against or
violating the rules and norms. Historically it has been seen that punitive executions have been
levied by the authorities for various kinds of misconducts. Certain amendments have been made
in the procedures and it is made sure that the punishments are given after fully analyzing the
evidence and proofs against the person. It is the responsibility of the judge and the jury to take an
appropriate decision regarding the punishments as a result of which each case is analyzed in a
deep manner (Conway & Gawronski, 2013). It has also been noticed that decisions taken by a
judge are a much speedy procedure than decisions taken by the jury. In a jury system, different
people have different opinions, as a result of which decisions taken by a judge is more reliable
and accurate.
A sense of satisfaction arises when it is seen that serial offenders get punished through capital
punishment. In the entire system of criminal justice, it has been seen that the death penalty is a
critical part and is applied to the worst offenders. Capital punishment is important in some
serious cases so that others get a lesson from this and positive balance is maintained in the
environment (Yost, 2019). The scope of capital punishment i.e. death penalty is wide as this law
has been practiced in all the countries since early ages. Capital punishment is significant and is
important to be practiced in cases where people have committed serious crimes (Hood, 2019).
This gives a lesson and teaching to the other people for not repeating the crime which the capital
punishment gainers commit. In recent times, it has been seen that almost 103 out of 195
countries do not allow capital punishment and the remaining 54 countries actively implement it.
Retribution aims at what the people deserve for their wrongful act whereas incapacitation aims at
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the non-repetition of a similar crime by the offenders. In deterrence aim, punishment is a
medium to discourage others from doing similar offenses (Hawkins, 2019).
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Explanation of Ethical theory
Utilitarianism Theory is one of the ethical theories which explains that any action which creates
or gives happiness or satisfaction is right and the actions which creates unhappiness or
dissatisfaction among the person is intended to be wrong. The satisfaction or the dissatisfaction
is not only of the performer, but all the people related to it. Utilitarianism is different from that of
the other ethical theories and focuses on the right things which can be done from good or bad
motives. Utilitarianism theory considers and includes the interest of all the beings on an equal
level. Utility refers to the object which creates a high level of satisfaction among the people or
prevents the occurrence of the pain, mischief to the person whose interest is concerned (Chonko,
2012). The emergence of the ethical theory was in the eighteenth century by Jeremy Bentham
and similar theories were emerged by some authors prior to this. Jeremy Bentham introduced a
method in which the values of pains and pleasures can be calculated (Conway& Gawronski,
2013).Duration, intensity, uncertainty/ certainty, etc. are some of the elements which calculate
the value of pain or happiness.
The key phase of utilitarian was developed by Francis Hutcheson who stated in utilitarian theory
that the most moral step or action is taken relates to the happiness it brings among the number of
people. Likewise, it also relates to the moral evil which made suffered a number of people.
Utilitarian is judged by the morality of the step or the action taken. Utilitarian ethics' first
systematic theory was developed by John Gay who states that each action is said to have a
peculiar end, and what matters is the reason for that particular action performed. The moral
principle of the Utilitarian theory is to determine the fact that the action taken is for the
happiness of the others (Davis & Snell, 2018). The principle of this theory is based on the
morality of the actions which are taken in consideration of the happiness of different individuals
(Cekic, 2018). Preference utilitarian theory is based on the choice of an individuals that can be
recognized as the bad and good. According to Kant, social utility can be maximized on the basis
of morality and the purpose which maximizes the satisfaction of the other individuals. It is on the
duty of court martial to provide for the execution of death and that is severe.
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Application of Ethical Theory
Application of the ethical theories helps the individuals to take effective decisions on the basis of
what is right and what is wrong for all beings. Applying the utilitarian theory is needed for the
betterment of society. The moral philosophy of the utilitarianism theory is that the taken action is
right if the results of the action are favorable for all. In order to know the moral justification of
capital punishment, it is important for the judge and the jury to analyses the harmful and
beneficial results of the decision .It all depends on the decision of court which means that the
judge favors the beneficiary side this can be applied to the other party(Perlin, et. al., 2019).
While adopting and implementing the utilitarian approach in case of capital punishment, the
judge, as well as the jury, is required to gather all the facts and information. A cost-benefit
analysis is required to be performed by the judge and jury to evaluate whether the capital
punishment i.e. death penalty would make the environment and the world an improved and better
place to live in (Fieser, 2017). In addition to this, the capital punishment is an institutionalized,
governed practice of different states that governs the procedures and conduct. Utilitarianism
develops the satisfaction which emerges due to the healthy environment and positive impact of
the decisions which are taken in case of capital punishments or the death penalty. This theory
states that the consequences of act are based on the actions and that can be right or wrong.
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References
Cekic, N. (2018). Utilitarianism and the idea of university: A short ethical analysis. Filozofija
I Drustvo, 29(1), 73-87.
Chonko, L. (2012). Ethical theories. [Online] Dsef. Available at: http://www.dsef.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/07/EthicalTheories.pdf. [Accessed: 12 April 2019]
Conway, P., & Gawronski, B. (2013). Deontological and utilitarian inclinations in moral
decision making: A process dissociation approach. Journal Of Personality And Social
Psychology, 104(2), 216-235..
Fieser, J. (2017). Capital Punishment. [Online] Moral Issues That Divide Us. Available at:
https://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/160/7-cap-pun.htm. [Accessed: 12 April
2019].
Hawkins, D. (2019). Intellectual Disability Death Penalty. Wisconsin Law Journal.
Hood, R. (2019). Capital Punishment. [Online] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/capital-punishment. [Accessed: 12 April 2019]
Perlin, M., Roitberg Harmon, T., & Chatt, S. (2019). 'A World of Steel-Eyed Death': An
Empirical Evaluation of the Failure of the Strickland Standard to Ensure Adequate
Counsel to Defendants with Mental Disabilities Facing the Death Penalty. SSRN
Electronic Journal.
Yost, B. S. (2019). Against Capital Punishment. Oxford University Press.
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