The late Russell Kirk may be numbered among my favorite political
philosophers. Not everything which he wrote was good, but much of what
he did write which was good was excellent [1]. But even among his
greater works I find the occasional essay (or chapter) which causes me
to cringe. His essay on the death penalty,
Criminal Character and Mercy (found in his book,
Redeeming the Time) is such a work.
In this essay, Dr Kirk presents his case for capital punishment based on three broad points:
- It is more merciful to the criminal to kill him than to suffer him to live.
- The death penalty serves as a deterrent against the worst crimes.
- The death penalty is necessary to protect innocent people from
violent criminals, who may after all escape (or be released) only to
terrorize another victim.
The latter two points I will not address here. If they are true, then
they are valid reasons for supporting the death penalty—they have, at
the very least, a good end as their goal (e.g. the protection of
innocents) [
2].
Read the rest on the IGNITUM TODAY site.
No comments:
Post a Comment