I have been reading a book that has renewed my interest in the use of the death sentence in various countries in the world. Not a great book by any stretch of the imagination, but I have been thinking about the use of the death sentence for many years.
After all I live in a country that refuses to use the death sentence and has for many years. Despite the fact that re-introducing the death sentence would be quite popular with the general population. Politicians have taken a moral stand that the death sentence is wrong no matter how popular it may be. Seeing politicians take a moral stand is something that by itself is quite unusual and something to be encouraged.
There are many good reasons why the death sentence can be thought of as wrong; there are even a few good reasons why the death sentence can be though of as fully justified. This post is about just one overpowering reason why it is wrong to impose the death sentence.
If it can be wrong for one man (or woman) to kill another on their own, why is any less wrong for a gang of people to kill another ? It may be argued that the state is not just some gang, but it is still a collection of men and women acting on behalf of a society. Each one of those individuals is prohibited from killing, but as a whole they are not ?
If it is wrong for an individual to kill another individual, then it is wrong for the state to kill any individual