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Capital Punishment by Jari Niemi, Ph.D. Background This module is best approached as an attempted solution to an important ethical problem. Given the fact that human beings continue to commit horrendous crimes, societies are faced with the problem of deciding the appropriate punishment for such crimes. So, the problem can be stated as a question: Is capital punishment morally justifiable or might life-imprisonment be enough? The problem-based approach is particularly suited to active student engagement designed to develop and enhance the set of skills outlined in the "educational objectives." To provide context for the problem, one might begin by pointing out that while capital punishment has been used by different societies for thousands of years, it is not today universally accepted. The European Union, with all of its member nations, as well as Canada and Australia, for example, does not consider capital punishment acceptable (http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/deathpenalty/ deathpenhome.htm#EUPolicyDocuments. This shows that there is considerable disagreement regarding the moral justifiability of this form of punishment. In the face of such disagreement, it is worthwhile to look at the arguments on both sides of the debate.

Capital Punishment

by Jari Niemi, Ph.D.

Background

This module is best approached as an attempted solution to an important ethical problem. Given the fact that human beings continue to commit horrendous crimes, societies are faced with the problem of deciding the appropriate punishment for such crimes. So, the problem can be stated as a question: Is capital punishment morally justifiable or might life-imprisonment be enough? The problem-based approach is particularly suited to active student engagement designed to develop and enhance the set of skills outlined in the "educational objectives." To provide context for the problem, one might begin by pointing out that while capital punishment has been used by different societies for thousands of years, it is not today universally accepted. The European Union, with all of its member nations, as well as Canada and Australia, for example, does not consider capital punishment acceptable (http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/deathpenalty/
deathpenhome.htm#EUPolicyDocuments.

This shows that there is considerable disagreement regarding the moral justifiability of this form of punishment. In the face of such disagreement, it is worthwhile to look at the arguments on both sides of the debate.