The morality of death penalty

This book examines the various philosophical justifications given in support of and in opposition to the contentious issue of death penalty. By examining these philosophical theories, I aim to find out whether death penalty is morally justified especially in the contemporary times. Numerous retributive, utilitarian and other general arguments raised in favour of retention and abolition of death penalty are studied in detail by qualitatively analyzing theories of punishment and political thought of scholars with respect to death penalty. While the defense of death penalty rightly justifies the practice, they fall short in trying to convince us of its morality in a world which now has higher moral standards than the previous centuries. In trying to examine the traditional and contemporary justifications and arguments from both the sides of the debate, the dissertation attempts to show that death penalty is no longer morally justified.