Capital Punishment Punishment:

The deliberate and authorized causing of pain or harm to someone thought to have broken a rule, code, law etc.

Punishment Pain, harm or other

consequence normally considered unpleasant

Administered for an offense against a law or rule

Punishment must be administered to someone who is judged guilty of an offense.

Punishment must be imposed by someone other than the offender

Punishment must be imposed by rightful authority

Capital Punishment Four

Justifications for Punishment.

Retribution Deterrence Incapacitation Rehabilitation

Capital Punishment Retribution:

The view that offenders deserve to be punished for their crimes and to be punished in proportion to the severity of their offense.

Capital Punishment Deterrence: Inhibiting criminal

behavior by fear of punishment

General deterrence Focuses on general prevention of crime by making examples of specific offenders.

Specific deterrence Focuses on the individual in question. The aim of these punishments is to discourage the criminal from future criminal acts by instilling an understanding of the consequences.

Capital Punishment Incapacitatio

n Aims to

prevent future crimes by taking away the individual’s ability to commit such acts.

Capital Punishment Rehabilitation

: Aims to

reform the offender or rehabilitate them so they can reintegrate into society.

Capital Punishment Punishment by execution of

someone officially judged to have committed a serious or capital crime

Capital Punishment Two ways to look

at punishment. In terms of people

what people deserve

In terms of desirable consequences

Capital PunishmentAbolitionists: Those who wish to abolish capital punishment

Capital PunishmentRetentionists: Those who wish to retain the death penalty