Capital Punishment I. The death penalty is the harshest sentence used by our government to punish criminals. As such, it is the most controversial punishment in force in the United States today. Ernest Van Den Haag examines the morality of the death penalty in his essay, "The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense." He argues that there are moral grounds to support the death penalty and that a lesser punishment is, in fact, immoral. To better understand …showed first 75 words of 2207 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2207 total…a part of our higher intelligence. We rationalize and make choices, and morality is inherent in those choices. Animals do not have intellectual virtues or the ability to choose as we do. This is what makes us human and what sets us apart. By murdering to justify murder, we deny our higher instincts and allow that which is most petty to guide us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** MacKinnon, Barbara. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, Third Edition. Wadsworth, 2001.