Why does the US and so many of its citizens continue to support the death penalty?

[do_justly_love_mercy]

In 2019 … 22 persons were executed in the USA - in a State by State reality (50 States)

In other words … those numbers have been declining - and I don’t hear multitudes talking about it

Yes, true, although if you look at the figures, you realize that while the number of executions per year has indeed been falling since a high point in 1999, this is not as consistent a pattern as it perhaps sounds, because the number of executions per year in fact greatly increased from 1977, when executions resumed, until that 1999 high point. Therefore, it may be more useful to think in terms of executions returning to roughly the rate at which they were occurring in 1984, rather than seeing only a consistent trend of the figure falling year on year.

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Also worth asking is why 22 people were executed specially in the United States in 2019. The Council of Europe, by contrast, comprises 47 member states and has a population of approximately 820 million people. The last execution in a Council of Europe member state occurred in 1997, when the last execution took place in Ukraine. The last execution in a country that is now an EU member was in Latvia in 1996. Excluding Turkey (last execution 1984), the last execution in a European country that was not formerly a communist dictatorship occurred in France in 1977, the same year the US resumed executions.

The death penalty is largely a State issue. The exception is with federal crimes, in which case the federal death penalty was only reinstated in July of 2019 after a 16 year moratorium. So your question should really be framed differently.

Some States have abolished the death penalty. Some have not. For those here who are not familiar with the way the US is framed, think of the States as separate countries that are unified under a Constitutional umbrella. The States are largely free to run their business the way they want. At least, that’s the way it was intended to be.

Yes, I understand that the death penalty is a matter for the individual states as well as the federal government. Hence my mentioning the specific example of Connecticut in my original post. However, there is still a valid question, why is the death penalty still a legal punishment in the jurisdictions of the federal government, the armed forces, and 29 states?

 

[Emeraldlady]

I have always held that most political issues are not moral issues, and do not involve moral choices.

You have held that along with advocates of Hobbesian theory who pine for an artificial sovereign State and divine right to dictate morality. But that is not Catholicisms view. Catholicism honours and guards the conscience of men as the birthplace of civil morality.

There is a very small subset that deal with intrinsic evils that are exceptions, and your examples are all in that category. There is no moral choice in building a border wall or not, of raising the minimum wage or not - of applying capital punishment or not. There is a moral choice in voting for or against the legalization of abortion and euthanasia, and the clergy are well within their duties to speak out.

It is the Catholic Church who have catagorised acts as ‘intrinsically evil’ in the first place by the same yardstick with which it recognises extrinsically evil acts.

It is one thing to point out man’s basic rights and from where a state’s moral legitimacy comes, but that is entirely different than suggesting the clergy ought to help craft specific legislation or tell their flocks how to vote.

That isn’t what the clergy is doing where capital punishment is concerned. CP has gradually been abolished around the world as nations recognise that it is harmful to the common good. The Church has never intervened or seen fit to make comment. What is happening in the US is that this natural development is being inhibited by “unwarranted and false claims” regarding the true teaching of the Church. The authorities that have the duty to legislate are being influenced by false doctrine. That’s what the Church is responding to.

I think you have this backwards. If it had been seen as permission then Aquinas’ comment would have been unnecessary: everyone knows you don’t do something that is harmful. If, however, it was understood as a command then Aquinas observation becomes necessary to provide an exception to that command where it is beneficial to society.

The way Aquinas has approached his teaching method is to respond to current ‘objections’ to Church teaching. Ironically when the objection that he was responding to at that time in the 12th century, was that the death penalty is forbidden because of the Lords command to not uproot the cockle. Aquinas expounded showing that nations are forbidden to use death sentences when they do more harm than good, but at the time, that wasn’t the case. Today it is the case.

 

[EndTimes]

Yes, true, although if you look at the figures, you realize that while the number of executions per year has indeed been falling since a high point in 1999, this is not as consistent a pattern as it perhaps sounds, because the number of executions per year in fact greatly increased from 1977, when executions resumed, until that 1999 high point.

That decrease IS because the SCOTUS banned the DP.

And then, resurrected it

The number could very quickly go either way.

e.g. the SCOTUS could end it on a dime. Or demand more…

)

 

[1Lord1Faith]

However, there is still a valid question, why is the death penalty still a legal punishment in the jurisdictions of the federal government, the armed forces, and 29 states?

Because the people in government who have the authority to govern such things have made it so.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Because the people in government who have the authority to govern such things have made it so.

Well, of course. But that still doesn’t address the fundamental question that I was asking. The question is, why do those who govern the United States of America and its constituent parts pursue a policy of retaining the death penalty while those who govern most of the other countries in the world pursue a policy of abolishing it?

 

[EndTimes]

Why does the US and so many of its citizens continue to support the death penalty?

so… ‘so many’ ? how many is that?

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

There are probably as many statistics as there are polls. However, most polls put public support for the death penalty slightly above or below 50%, although more commonly slightly above.

A lot will depend upon exactly what questions are asked. For example, when asked whether they would prefer the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole, people preferred, by a very small margin, life imprisonment without parole. However, that is not quite the same thing as asking people simply whether they believe that the death penalty should be abolished. It also reflects the strong preference of the American public for extremely harsh sentencing. In the UK, for example, as mentioned earlier in this thread, not only do they not have the death penalty, but more than 99% of people sentenced to life imprisonment are eligible for parole. In November 2018 the State of Hesse abolished the death penalty in a referendum in which 83% of voters voted for abolition. I cannot imagine that there would be a single state in the US in which 83% of voters would vote to abolish the death penalty.

The other important consideration is the strength of feeling on the subject in the US. In the US, it is very difficult for a candidate for political office to openly oppose the death penalty. The US must be one of very few countries where supporting the abolition of the death penalty is considered likely to lose votes. The last presidential nominee from one of the two major parties who opposed the death penalty was Michael Dukakis, and the issue was believed to have contributed to his losing the election. John Kerry actually did oppose the death penalty before he became a presidential nominee, when he shifted his position to support the death penalty for terrorists. I do not believe that there is any other country where support for the death penalty is so strong that its retention or abolition can be a decisive factor in winning or losing an election.

 

[Emeraldlady]

I do not believe that there is any other country where support for the death penalty is so strong that its retention or abolition can be a decisive factor in winning or losing an election.

Yes the US is unique in a weird dissociative pro life attitude. In all other countries the same people that are against abortion are also against the death penalty and lax gun laws which allow the dreadful ‘killing fields’ situation. Most of us prolifers in the world see the blatant correlation that the ‘right to kill’ has with the pro abortion mentality.

 

[Ender]

Well, of course. But that still doesn’t address the fundamental question that I was asking. The question is, why do those who govern the United States of America and its constituent parts pursue a policy of retaining the death penalty while those who govern most of the other countries in the world pursue a policy of abolishing it?

Many of those countries had abandoned capital punishment before it was eliminated from Vatican City law. What is the concern with what “other countries” are doing? Is that how one determines what is appropriate? It seems ironic to condemn the nation that has most consistently followed church teaching. You should at least consider the possibility that, inasmuch as the church justified capital punishment as a matter of justice, some of us still believe that this is true.

 

[ATraveller]

Many Americans seem to have an almost religious sense of the necessity of a blood sacrifice to atone for guilt, whereas Canadians, Europeans, etc. seem to be content with imprisonment.

You should remove Canada because a clear majority support capital punishment.

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www.thestar.com

 

[Emeraldlady]

It seems ironic to condemn the nation that has most consistently followed church teaching. You should at least consider the possibility that, inasmuch as the church justified capital punishment as a matter of justice, some of us still believe that this is true.

That isn’t what is conveyed by the behaviour surrounding a death sentence in the US.

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www.aetv.com

At Florida State University, where Bundy murdered Bowman and Levy, the Chi Phi fraternity celebrated the killer’s execution with an evening cookout. They served “Bundy burgers” and “electrified hot dogs” under a large banner that read: “Watch Ted Fry, See Ted Die.”

There were additional celebrations around the country, including a planned barbecue in Mountain Brook, Alabama, hosted by two police officers. The “Bundy-cue” was organized in support of capital punishment and offered T-shirts for sale that said, “First Annual Ted Bundy Barbecue.”

The Church has always forbidden the death penalty carried out with vengeance.

 

[Ender]

The Church has always forbidden the death penalty carried out with vengeance.

The church has always condemned anything done for an immoral reason, nor is it appropriate to condemn everyone’s intentions because of the misbehavior of some. That’s a bit judgmental.

 

[EndTimes]

There are probably as many statistics as there are polls. However, most polls put public support for the death penalty slightly above or below 50%, although more commonly slightly above.

Yes… I know there’s Polls and polls.
And OK… 50%
Go back but a bit - and it was very close to 100%

 

[BornInMarch]

Is anybody able to provide any suggestions as to why the United States is so resistant toward the idea of abolishing the death penalty, given that this places us very much at odds with all otherwise comparable nations in the world?

I think part of the reason is American Exceptionalism. The term refers to three schools of thought; that America is inherently unique among nations (“exception”), that America has a special mission in the world - usually to advance the cause of representative democracy or liberty (“exception and exceptional”), or that America is inherently superior to all other nations (“exceptional”). I won’t argue about whether or not any of those three ideas are true, but I will say that a large amount of the American population believes in one or more of the above ideas and as a result the international community is seen as less important. After all, if you believe your own country is the best in the world and you support a policy it has that most other countries reject then the latter becomes proof of the former.

Another factor is that the idea of individualism is stronger in the United States. This has two effects on American thinking. First, it emboldens people with minority political or social opinions by making dissent from the majority worldview more acceptable or in some cases even celebrated. Second, it makes people believe that you are the primary master of your own destiny; in this mindset crime comes from individual failings rather than deeper systemic issues.

 

[EndTimes]

The DP . has been a deep part of many cultures - not just the US

It’s been on the wane… in the US…

And what people may want - has very little effect on the numbers…

22 in 2019

 

[Emeraldlady]

Second, it makes people believe that you are the primary master of your own destiny; in this mindset crime comes from individual failings rather than deeper systemic issues.

Yes and I’ve noticed that those holding that the death penalty is a divine right, seem to either reject or be confused by the scope of a ‘common good’.

 

[EndTimes]

Yes and I’ve noticed that those holding that the death penalty is a divine right, seem to either reject or be confused by the scope of a ‘common good’.

Since the DP has almost vanished… their (also vanishing) opinions are rather moot.

 

[Annie]

Most of us prolifers in the world see the blatant correlation that the ‘right to kill’ has with the pro abortion mentality.

What do you mean by this?

In most nations in the world which have abolished CP, abortion was legalized after the abolition.

In the US, the party with a commitment to keeping abortion legal is against CP, and vice versa.

If anything, i would say that there is more of an inverse co-relation.

 

[EndTimes]

Most of us prolifers in the world see the blatant correlation that the ‘right to kill’ has with the pro abortion mentality.
++++++

I agree w/Annie…

And… I see some pro-Abort “catholics” - yes they do exist -
siding w/Francis on the CCC/CP issue - not that they shouldn’t…

Why?

When Compared w/ABORTION, the number of deaths via CP is almost nada…

ABORTION? Since its legalization … we’re speaking of circa 1.5 Billion+ Murders of Babes in the Womb - … as Catholicism views it…
_

 

[Emeraldlady]

Emeraldlady:

Most of us prolifers in the world see the blatant correlation that the ‘right to kill’ has with the pro abortion mentality.

What do you mean by this?

In most nations in the world which have abolished CP, abortion was legalized after the abolition.

In the US, the party with a commitment to keeping abortion legal is against CP, and vice versa.

If anything, i would say that there is more of an inverse co-relation.

I’m juxtaposing the prolife mentality that outside the US has a different timbre than that ‘faction’ in the US who can only equate prolife with the abortion issue. Any sense of a supreme or divine ‘right to kill’ is the antithesis of the genuine prolife position. Prolife has to be consistent and unconditional to be credible.