John Stuart Mill
Death Penalty (Does the state have the right to kill another person?)
As an utilitarian I John Stuart Mill am in favor of the death penalty. Us utalitarians are commonly known for our phrase which is, “the greatest good for the greatest number of people”. What that means is that I am willing to sacrifice the life of one person, or even more for society to prosper. A person sentenced to death penalty has most probably done a heinous crime and therefore should be punished. Think of society as a garden, when you have weed growing on it you should prune it, and that is the responsibility of the gardener. Now take the gardener as the state or law and the weed as a criminal. The state should effectively get rid of this criminal for he is just like an infestation, he is disturbing the delicate balance of society and peace before he can spread his reach even further and cause irreparable damage. That is the greater good for society. By sentencing criminals to death not only are you making sure he doesn’t get an opportunity to commit atrocious crimes again and on the long run you also scare away those who might try. Not only would possible criminals feel adverse to the possibility of committing crimes and it is by far more cost effective to just get rid of criminals. Why should families go through hard times to receive a meal while criminals have a roof and food in prison? The state most definitely has the right to kill another person as long as it is in the interest of keeping the balance of society.
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