Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The Death Penalty Debate Examined Under the Consequentialist Paradigm. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper looks at the debate and argues that in light of consequentialism and non-consequentialist thought that the death penalty cannot be justified. Concepts are defined. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA412dp.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
colonial legislation usually applied the death penalty to many crimes. The Black Act of 1723 for example authorized executions as the punishment for a wide range of transgressions, from cutting
down young trees to writing threatening letters (Knoll 43). Fast forward to twenty first century America and many opinion polls show that the majority of citizens favor the death penalty
for serious crimes. At the same time, what the majority wants and what has always been is not always the right thing to do. In evaluating why the death penalty
should be abolished, the consequentialist versus non-consequentialist model will be used. First, it should be noted that rule-Utilitarianism evaluates the righteousness of an act based on various sets of rules
(Honderich 890). Act-consequentialism evaluates righteousness in respect to consequences. There is a significant different here and an obvious example of this is people who are overwhelmingly honest versus those who
are relatively honest. The former perhaps subscribes to a rule-consequentialist philosophy where they are meticulous in their desire to be completely law abiding. They do not go over the speed
limit. Their tax returns are meticulous and they would never accept the wrong change from a cashier. The rules to them are more important than the outcome. The latter sees
the consequences as the most important thing and so would exceed the speed limit if it meant that they would get to work on time, cheat on their taxes if
it would save them money and accept an extra ten dollars from a cashier without guilt. The latter type is only concerned with the outcome and not the rule. He
or she believes that they will probably not get caught speeding nor get audited. They are comfortable taking the extra money from the cashier. After all, they did not steal
...