Ethical Case Study: 
Capital Punishment

Ethical Case Study: Capital Punishment

 

The state of Ohio is currently debating whether to abolish the death penalty. This discussion has been reignited by the case of Troy Davis, a Black man who was executed in Georgia in 2011 despite widespread doubt about his guilt. Davis was convicted of murdering a police officer, but several witnesses later recanted their testimonies, and no physical evidence directly tied him to the crime. His execution sparked protests around the world and highlighted the risk of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases.

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The issue of wrongful executions is not isolated to Davis’s case. Since 1973, over 190 individuals on death row in the U.S. have been exonerated, some just hours before their scheduled executions. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, for every 8.3 people executed in the U.S., one person has been exonerated. This alarming statistic suggests that the justice system is prone to error, particularly in capital cases. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that 1 in 25 people sentenced to death in the U.S. is likely innocent.

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One of the most infamous cases of wrongful execution involves Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire that killed his three daughters. Subsequent investigations found that the arson evidence used to convict him was deeply flawed, raising serious doubts about his guilt. In another case, Carlos DeLuna was executed in Texas in 1989 for a stabbing murder, but evidence uncovered after his death strongly suggested that another man committed the crime.

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Despite these concerns, supporters of capital punishment argue that it serves as a deterrent for violent crimes and delivers justice to the families of victims. This perspective is evident in the case of Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper, whose brutal murders of five college students in Florida in 1990 led to his execution in 2006. The families of the victims supported the death penalty, believing it was the only way to achieve justice for their loved ones. They argue that some crimes are so heinous that death is the only appropriate punishment and that it ensures dangerous criminals are permanently removed from society.

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However, research shows that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent. A 2009 study by the American Law and Economics Review found no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than life imprisonment. In fact, states without the death penalty often have lower murder rates than states that continue to use it. Additionally, racial disparities in death penalty sentencing are a significant concern. Black defendants, especially those accused of killing white victims, are far more likely to receive the death penalty. Studies show that a Black person convicted of killing a white person is over 17 times more likely to be sentenced to death than a white person convicted of killing a Black person.

 

Beyond the moral and legal concerns, the death penalty is also extremely costly. The average capital punishment case in the U.S. costs $1.26 million—nearly twice the cost of a non-capital trial that results in life imprisonment. This includes the costs of prolonged trials, appeals, and incarceration, making capital punishment a significant financial burden on states.

This case study examines the ethical conflict between the desire for justice for victims’ families, such as those in the Danny Rolling case, and the risk of wrongful execution, as seen in Troy Davis’s and Cameron Todd Willingham’s cases.

 

Analysis Questions

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1. Is it morally justifiable for the state to take a life as punishment for a crime, given the number of wrongful executions and exonerations?

2. Does the potential for wrongful convictions make the death penalty unethical?

3. Should the death penalty be applied equally across states, or should individual states have the authority to decide?

4. How does the possibility of racial or socioeconomic bias affect the ethics of capital punishment, as seen in many of the exonerated cases?

5. Would life imprisonment be a more ethical and cost-effective alternative to capital punishment, even in cases of extreme violence like that of Danny Rolling?