TY - JOUR PY - 2017// TI - Mill's defense of capital punishment JO - Criminal justice ethics A1 - Ten, C. L. SP - 141 EP - 151 VL - 36 IS - 2 N2 - John Stuart Mill strongly supports capital punishment for aggravated murder. He rejects various arguments against capital punishment, including the claim that it is incompatible with respect for human life. He believes that capital punishment is a superior deterrent to the alternative of life imprisonment with hard labor. However, the deterrent effect of capital punishment is achieved by its appearance of severity. In fact, it is less cruel than the alternative, and it is the least severe form of punishment that would effectively deter murder. Mill regards death itself, as distinguished from the manner of dying, as a relatively minor evil. His views on death and capital punishment are not compelling, and, if they were widely accepted, would undermine the seriousness of some types of murder.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0731-129X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.2017.1358919 ID - ref1 ER -