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Analysis Of Pojman 's Defense Of The Death Penalty Essay

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“Who so sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” (Genesis 9:6) There is an ancient tradition going back to biblical times that a fitting punishment for murder is the execution of the murderer. In this paper I will critically explain Pojman 's “Defense of the Death Penalty”. I will go over what his opinion on the death penalty and the deontologists and consequentialists point of views.
Pojman has two different prongs: the backward looking judgement and the forward looking judgement. The first prong, backward looking judgement, or the deontological position is the judgement Pojman says that because human beings as rational agents, have dignity one who with malice aforethought kills a human being forfeits his right to life and deserves to die. This is explained through retribution.The first tradition that Pojman uses to justify the death penalty is, retribution. It holds 3 propositions. The first being, all the guilty deserve to be punished. The second, the guilty deserve to be punished, the guilty deserve to be punished in proportion to the severity of their crime. Pojman believes that people who commit capital offenses deserve nothing less than capital punishment. In the thought experiment that Pojman created on page 183 shows how capital punishment is a fitting punishment for capital offenses.
Pojman poses many thought experiences to get his point across. One in particular, starts off by explaining the grocer 's wife and how she was a happy woman who enjoyed

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