The Irrevocability of Capital Punishment

Journal of Social Philosophy 42 (3):321-340 (2011)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

One of the many arguments against capital punishment is that execution is irrevocable. At its most simple, the argument has three premises. First, legal institutions should abolish penalties that do not admit correction of error, unless there are no alternative penalties. Second, irrevocable penalties are those that do not admit of correction. Third, execution is irrevocable. It follows that capital punishment should be abolished. This paper argues for the third premise. One might think that the truth of this premise is self-evident. But in his paper “Is the Death Penalty Irrevocable?” Mike Davis argues that it is false: the death penalty is not irrevocable. While Davis’ argument is itself somewhat compelling, it receives additional support from work in the metaphysics of death, specifically the literature on posthumous harm. Strengthened in this way, the argument deserves careful consideration. I begin with a quick sketch of Davis’ argument, then show how the Pitcher-Feinberg theory of posthumous harm enables a more robust argument against the irrevocability of capital punishment, defending their theory of harm against standard objections in the literature. Having established the coherency of the robust argument, I conclude that it nevertheless fails to make the case against irrevocability. This is because it ignores the full set of practical requirements incumbent on legal institutions that wrongly punish someone.

Links

PhilArchive

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Desert, Justice and Capital Punishment.Patrick Lenta & Douglas Farland - 2008 - Criminal Law and Philosophy 2 (3):273-290.
Retributivist arguments against capital punishment.Thom Brooks - 2004 - Journal of Social Philosophy 35 (2):188–197.
Derrida: Opposing Death Penalties.Marguerite La Caze - 2009 - Derrida Today 2 (2):186-199.
Considering Capital Punishment as a Human Interaction.Christopher Bennett - 2013 - Criminal Law and Philosophy 7 (2):367-382.
Locke on the Death Penalty.A. John Simmons - 1994 - Philosophy 69 (270):471-.
Punishment.Thom Brooks - 2012 - New York, NY: Routledge.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-09-20

Downloads
1,975 (#4,118)

6 months
137 (#20,560)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Benjamin S. Yost
Cornell University

References found in this work

Harm to Others.Joel Feinberg - 1984 - Oxford University Press USA.
Well-being.Roger Crisp - 2013 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Misfortunes of the Dead.George Pitcher - 1984 - American Philosophical Quarterly 21 (2):183 - 188.
Me and My Life.Shelly Kagan - 1994 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 94:309-324.

View all 14 references / Add more references