Is the death penalty ever a legitimate form of punishment?
             With this essay, I aim to refute the most popular arguments in favour of the death penalty. Obviously, the word-limit precludes my discussing the cases for and against in great depth; therefore, I will restrict myself to an examination of the state-sanctioned use of capital punishment for capital crime (murder).
             In his Speech in Favour of Capital Punishment , J.S. Mill puts forward a forceful case for retaining the death penalty to punish convicted murderers. His main argument might be stated as follows:
             (i) any state-sanctioned punishment against criminals should be the least cruel possible and should act as the strongest social deterrence against future crime;
             (ii) the death penalty is the strongest deterrence against murder;
             (iii) capital punishment is less cruel than the alternative of lifelong imprisonment;
             (iv) executions are quick and death is not so much to be feared;
             (v) the murderer has already shown his contempt for life by killing – by killing him in turn, the state shows how much respect it has for the life of the ordinary civilian; therefore,
             (vi) it is right that the death penalty be legally-sanctioned.
             I wish to demonstrate that, even if one accepts premise (i), premises (ii) to (v) are false and that, therefore, Mill's argument is unsound.
             The idea that capital punishment deters would-be murderers from committing capital crime seems rooted in common sense: what could be a greater deterrent than the threat of death? I contend that this view misrepresents human psychology. When a murder has been committed, it has either been planned, or it has not. If it was planned, then the murderer would have considered the possibility of capture and taken steps to avoid it; if unplanned (for example, a sudden act of violence), then the murderer acted instantly and so without regard for the consequences. In either case, the threat of capital pu...