Bernie Roddy writes:
"A History of Thought on the Death Penalty"
Bernie Roddy
Debates about the death penalty can address the fairness of its administration or the moral consequences of the likelihood that innocent people are executed, but the central issue from a theoretical point of view seems to be the sense in which death is an appropriate punishment for the guilty.
We know that what constitutes an appropriate response to the most serious crimes has changed dramatically over time, and that it has not always seemed wrong to make even the family of the guilty suffer the punishment he endures. But while a long torturous death at one time seemed to be the only manner in which certain debts could be paid, a simple termination of life as in active euthanasia now strike many as the minimum penalty for some offences.
We can also reasonably say that the penalty may not be one that is imposed by the victims or the family of the victims, but is imposed by society at large, there being a threat to the social order as much as a loss suffered by the individual. Thus, it would not necessarily be correct to consider the execution a form of restitution. Because the debt is not paid to those who suffered the loss, or not to them alone, the power to grant mercy for the accused, it may be argued, is justly denied the family of the victim.
