Wednesday, October 15, 2014

IN LOVING MEMORY OF LOUIS POJMAN [PRO DEATH PENALTY QUOTE OF THE WEEK ~ SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014 TO SATURDAY OCTOBER 18, 2014]






QUOTE: "People often confuse retribution with revenge... Vengeance signifies inflicting harm on the offender out of anger because of what he has done. Retribution is the rationally supported theory that the criminal deserves a punishment fitting the gravity of his crime...

Retributivism is not based on hatred for the criminal (though a feeling of vengeance may accompany the punishment). Retributivism is the theory that the criminal deserves to be punished and deserves to be punished in proportion to the gravity of his or her crime, whether or not the victim or anyone else desires it. We may all deeply regret having to carry out the punishment, but consider it warranted. 

When a society fails to punish criminals in a way thought to be proportionate to the gravity of the crime, the danger arises that the public would take the law into its own hands, resulting in vigilante justice, lynch mobs, and private acts of retribution. The outcome is likely to be an anarchistic, insecure state of injustice." ["Why the Death Penalty Is Morally Permissible," from the 2004 book edited by Adam Bedau and titled Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment?]

AUTHOR: Louis Paul Pojman (April 22, 1935-October 15, 2005) was an American philosopher and professor, whose name is most recognized as the author of over a hundred philosophy texts and anthologies which he himself read at more than sixty universities around the world and which continue to be used widely for educational purposes. Pojman was known for work in applied ethics and philosophy of religion.

No comments:

Post a Comment