Capital Punishment: Morals and Ethics

In the context of Death Penalty, ​Capital Punishment is defined as the act of

legally executing a person that committed a crime. In the year 2020, according to the
World Population Review​, there are fourteen countries worldwide that still have been
legally executing criminals (e.g. China, Japan, and the United States). However, is such
an act justifiably moral or ethical, given the criminal’s perspective, the victim’s
perspective, and the society’s perspective?

Observing a criminal before the execution, for example, his last statements can
tell a lot about his viewpoint. According to studies such as Schuck and Ward (2008),
Eaton and Theuer (2009), Rice et al (2009), and Hirschmüller and Egloff (2016), in the
last statements of those who will be executed in Texas, there is a bigger percentage of
criminals who showed repentance and acceptance than those who showed anger and
rejection. With this stated, should an execution still proceed when there is an obvious
change of heart, given that it would be reasonably moral?

When there is a sign of sincere remorse, there is a change of heart. In the

concept of the “Philosophy of Second Chances” (Gooden Center, n.d., para. 3),
forgiving and giving second chances can be a practical solution to a conflict, especially
that caused emotional trauma. Applying this concept to Death Penalty and Capital
Punishment, a convict can be spared when all the charges against him were dropped.
Nevertheless, there would still be a slight probability that the spared convict would
return to committing crimes. For instance, convicts who have committed a high degree
of crime would be executed without delay, which means authorities would have the right
to perform an execution even when he tries to bail out. On the other hand, in an event
where there is no sign of remorse nor regret, performing an execution would be morally
justifiable, in some sense.
 Death Penalties and Capital Punishments are imposed to execute justice for
gravely affected victims. For example, a victim who merely survived as his entire family
was massacred. In such a case, imposing Capital Punishment on the criminal would be
ethical and reasonably practical. However, at some point, it would not be accepted by
society due to human rights reasons, as they believe that anyone should not be
deprived of their human life value, even if they are murderers.

By and large, Capital Punishment can be morally correct, morally wrong, ethical,
or reasonably practical, depending on which point of view. It could be considered as
morally correct if a convict who showed repentance was spared or when any convict
charged of anything was spared, without showing remorse. On the other hand, it would
be considered ethical or reasonably practical but morally wrong when a convict charged
with a high-level crime, who showed remorse, would be executed. It may be as
perplexing and hard when choosing between morals and ethics, but it always takes a
strong heart and a strong mind to make a decision.
References:

Eaton J, Theuer A. Apology and remorse in the last statements of death row prisoners.
Justice Q 2009; 26:327–47

Gooden Center. (n.d.). The Philosophy of Second Chances. Retrieved from

https://www.goodencenter.org/the-philosophy-of-second-chances/#:~:text=Forgiv
eness%20and%20second%20chances%20can,were%20to%20make%20any%2
0mistakes

Hirschmüller S, Egloff B. Positive emotional language in the final words spoken directly
before execution. Front Psychol 2016; 6:1985

Lester, David & Gunn III, John. (2013). Ethnic Differences in the Statements Made by
Inmates About to be Executed in Texas. ​Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice,​
11(4)​, 295-301. 10.1080/15377938.2012.762753

Rice SK, Dirks D, Exline JJ. Of guilt, defiance, and repentance: evidence from the
Texas death chamber. Justice Q 2009; 26: 295–326

Schuck ART, Ward J. Dealing with the inevitable: strategies of self-presentation and
meaning construction in the final statements of inmates on Texas death row.
Discourse Soc 2008; 19:43–62

World Population Review. (n.d.). Countries With Death Penalty 2020. Retrieved from
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-death-penalty