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

[o_mlly]

Yes…but this is a bit misleading because there is a greater good attached to that evil.

The evil of natural defect, or of punishment, He does will, by willing the good to which such evils are attached. Thus in willing justice He wills punishment. (Aquinas ST I-II 19,9)

The question, the good saint comments on is: Whether God wills evils? In God’s omniscience, He knows the greater good that he will bring out of the evil He permits. His creatures do not and must judge the goodness of the act solely on the reasonable foreseen outcomes. In the act that kills a human being that foreseen consequence must be proportionate, that is the saving of a human life.

 

[esieffe]

I never have been a fan of the DP. Too many innocents have been executed over the years, though I doubt with DNA that happens nearly as much. It is also vastly expensive. Many municipalities don’t have the money to spend on state funded defense lawyers for the appeals process.

I used to believe that it wasn’t an effective deterrent, but in the past several years I have come to change my mind about that. It seems… that most people want to live in a concrete box and be around the dangerous environment of prison rather than put an end to it. I’d rather get the needle, but most people seem to not want to do that. So while I still do not favor the DP in most cases, it may in fact be a deterrent.

So… Ender my old friend… you get one point from me! [but one point only! ]

 

[Rau]

Possibly, but these are simply assertions with nothing to support them, and inasmuch as they are opinions there is no obligation to agree with them.

Hence my surprise that the catechism is changed rather than addressing the topic in an encyclical.

Whether the “inadmissibility” statement in the catechism is binding on Catholics would be a relevant thread topic.

Besides, retribution (retributive justice) is still the primary objective of punishment, and death is still commensurate in severity with the crime of murder. It remains a just punishment.

Ender, you tend to view the entire topic through this lens. Please recognise that the above does not guarantee that acts of CP are the moral course.

 

[godisgood77]

Besides, retribution (retributive justice) is still the primary objective of punishment, and death is still commensurate in severity with the crime of murder. It remains a just punishment.

Only if you ignore the teaching of the Church Ender. No amount of mental gymnastics will change the fact that the death penalty is inadmissible according to the Church.

 

[Emeraldlady]

Emeraldlady:

Do you admit that killing a human being is actually evil when it doesn’t serve the purpose that justified it?

Do I believe it is evil to kill someone when it is not justified? Is that really a question?

Nice dodge. Do you accept that something can be evil ‘extrinsically’?