Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"The Authority to Kill"
Joseph Bottum has an (I think) intriguing essay up at Public Discourse, called "The Authority to Kill," in which he presents an argument that I remember hearing at a conference, at Notre Dame, about 12 years ago, but not since. In a nutshell, Bottum's point is that there are some powers that some, but not all, governments (legitimately) have and exercise? Obviously, not all governments are vested by their constitutions with the same powers, but these variations among different jurisdictions' positive laws is not Bottum's subject. Instead, and focusing on the death penalty and war-making, Bottum asks whether there are some "forms of government" that may legitimately execute murderers, or go to war, while some others may not. Are there some forms of governments that lack what it takes to apply the death penalty "because its killers deserve to die?"
Check it out.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2011/11/the-authority-to-kill.html
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Rick,
I do not in any way question your sincerity, but I must question the sincerity of Mr. Bottum. The Roman Catechism stated unambiguously and for all time that capital punishment is an instrument of the legal authorities for the defense of life. Right to life = Judicious use of criminal penalties including death. That is the Magisterium speaking.
Now, Mr. Bottum treats to a serving of red herring by way of dragging in the question of retributive justice and the moral rectitude of death as a punishment. The catechism only authorizes one rationale for executions: defense of innocent life, both directly, and indirectly through confirming social order and the commitment of the courts to defend it.
There is no other basis permitted or arguable. But like good little red herrings, this retributive stuff let's us get away without mentioning, much less addressing, the true issue.
So let's take seriously the known studies on capital punishment as a deterrent and deal with the clear implication: to refuse in "principle" to execute criminals is to condemn many innocents to death. How's that for the sanctity of life?