Section 1: Save and Rename this Assignment
Step 1: Download Google Doc into a Word .doc or docx. Rename assignment as “(last name_first name) Ethics 103 Lesson Packet 9”
For example, my assignment would be: Kirkham_Jill Ethics 103 Lesson Packet 9
Section 2: England’s Death Penalty
Step 01: Crime and Punishment – The Story of Capital Punishment
Write a paragraph summarizing the film:
Section 3: Facts about the Death Penalty
Step 01: Read 5 facts about the death penalty
Step 02: Read about state decisions here:
Step 03: Answer the following questions.
1. Should a country’s capital punishment policy be decided by a public vote, or should it be decided by philosophers? What are the benefits of each position?
2. Research the clause on cruel and unusual punishments (8th Amendment). What are the different views?
Step 04: Watch “Bryan Stevenson – Racism and the Death Penalty”
1. What are the ethical problems of the death penalty being applied arbitrarily?
Section 4: Mill
Step 01: Read pages 390-397
Step 02: Answer the following questions. Make sure to be specific in your answer and use evidence from the reading to support your claims.
1. Outline Mill’s argument for capital punishment.
2. How does Mill respond to the argument that in taking a life we are no better than the murderer?
3. Is the fact that capital punishment is irreversible a good reason for making sure that it is never used?
Section 5: Bedau
Step 01: Read pages 397-406
Step 02: Answer the following questions. Make sure to be specific in your answer and use evidence from the reading to support your claims.
1. Why does Bedau think that the argument about the death penalty cannot be settled on empirical grounds?
2. What social goals does Bedau think the practice of punishment should fulfill? Is he right?
3. Why does Bedau think that the normative principles he lists favor the abolition of the death penalty?
Section 6: Weight on the Jury
Step 01: Watch “A juror’s reflections on the death penalty”
Step 02: Answer the following questions.
1. What happened to Lindy Lou?
2. After her decision, what caused her to have doubts?
3. Is the pressure society places on jurors unfair? Does the PTSD of the juror outweigh the need for the death penalty?
4. Is there a better way to treat juror members?