1. Why should someone be refused a “good death”?

2. Outline the three leading theories of punishment (utilitarianism, retribution, reform)

3. Are offenders (not just those on death row) morally depraved, or victims of
society?
4. Of the three leading theories of punishment, which do you think is the most
humane, and why?

1. According to Kantian ethics people should be refused a “good death” – a death involving as
little pain as possible - if they have killed another person without allowing them a “good
death” – the “eye for an eye” philosophy. The utilitarian would argue that capital punishment
should always be in the form of a “good death” as torture, to any extent, in the process of
killing someone is needless suffering on their part. As the criminal would be of no risk to
society, dieing regardless of the way in which he was put to death, the utilitarian would see no
reason not to provide a “good death.” I am in favour of the utilitarian stance on this issue as I
do not appreciate the need for excessive suffering.

2. Utilitarianism believes that the punishment to be given should only be as severe as is

necessary to result in the greatest happiness of society. This could be the death penalty if it
was felt that there was a great deal of suffering by others following the crime committed by
the convict and also, that it was felt the suffering involved in being put to death was less than
that of the happiness gained by others.
Retribution is the Kantian ideology on punishment: The belief that the just punishment is that
which is equal to the crime committed. Using this theory a “good death” should not be
granted to someone who has committed a murder involving torture/great suffering to the
victim.
Reform is where the individual is punished so that they will no longer want to commit crime.
This could be seen as more like “education” than punishment.

3. Although many people are criminals due to being morally depraved – eg. being a
psychopath or member of a criminal rewarding sub-culture – this is very often due to them
being unfortunate victims of society. This can be due to a multitude of reasons including poor
schooling, low neighbourhood aura (due to poor housing, vandalism etc) and personal
tragedy. As mental illness is hard to identify it is hard to argue against the point that many
convicts are mentally ill – law abiding citizens often cannot understand why certain crimes
would have been committed, what the motives would have been.

Brendan Howard 6JDS

4. I think the policy of reform is the most humane. Not being a supporter of capital
punishment under any circumstances, I do not support the utilitarian or Kantian theories for
just punishment (deterrence and retribution respectively). I believe that any alive human being
should have rights to live and not be made to suffer unless their suffering is necessary (under
general circumstances it would not be).

Brendan Howard 6JDS