Capital Punishment: For And Against

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on
which community is built requires each citizen to honor the rightful claims of
others. The utter and deliberate denial of life and opportunity to others
forfeits ones own claim to continued membership in the community, whose
standards have been so flagrantly violated. The preservation of moral community
demands that the shattering of the foundation of its existence must be taken
with utmost seriousness. The preciousness of life in a moral community must be
so highly honored that those who do not honor the life of others make null and
void their own right to membership. Those who violate the personhood of others,
especially if this is done persistently as a habit must pay the ultimate penalty.
This punishment must be inflicted for the sake of maintaining the community
whose foundation has been violated. We can debate whether some non-lethal
alternative is a fitting substitute for the death penalty. But the standard of
judgment is whether the punishment fits the crime and ...

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not be vengeance or punishment.
Rather an ideal community would show mercy even to those who had shown no mercy.
It would return good for evil. The aim of isolation is reconciliation and not
revenge. never gives up. It is ever hopeful that even the worse among us can be
redeemed so that their own potential contribution to others can be realized.
Opportunities for confronting those who had been hurt most could be provided to
encourage remorse and reconciliation. If a life has been taken, no full
restitution can be made, of course, but some kind of service to the community
might be required as a way of partially making amends.

EVALUATION

Such, in brief, is the argument for and against ...

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