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Citation |
Ten CL. Crim. Justice Ethics 2017; 36(2): 141-151. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2017, John Jay College of Criminal Justice - Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
John Stuart Mill strongly supports capital punishment for aggravated murder. He rejects various arguments against capital punishment, including the claim that it is incompatible with respect for human life. He believes that capital punishment is a superior deterrent to the alternative of life imprisonment with hard labor. However, the deterrent effect of capital punishment is achieved by its appearance of severity. In fact, it is less cruel than the alternative, and it is the least severe form of punishment that would effectively deter murder. Mill regards death itself, as distinguished from the manner of dying, as a relatively minor evil. His views on death and capital punishment are not compelling, and, if they were widely accepted, would undermine the seriousness of some types of murder. Language: en |
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Keywords |
death; deterrence; justice; murder; punishment |