Resolved: The Death Penalty is a Morally Tenable Punishment

Noted political theorist and philosopher Charles de Montesquieu once said that There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. It is because I agree with him that I negate the Resolved: The Death Penalty is a Morally Tenable Punishment. For today's debate I will be offering the value of Government Legitimacy, which is defined as a people believe that their government's actions are appropriate uses of power carried out by a legally constituted government. Government Legitimacy has to be the paramount value for this debate because the government is the sole actor in the resolution. Government Legitimacy will be upheld by a Value Criterion of Deontological Justice, which is a moral system in which we give people their due by treating each individual with inherent value, never using them as a means to an end. Contention One: Deterrence Treats Individuals as a means to an end Deterrence is one of the chief justifications for the death penalty, whether it actually deters crime or not is up for dispute, but what is indisputable is that using this as a justification for the death penalty deprives individuals of their worth and humanity by using them as a means to achieving the end of deterring further crimes. This creates a state of affairs that sets a precedent for the government being able to justly use individuals as a means to an end to achieve policy goals, creating an unjust state of affairs where people are stripped of their humanity. Contention Two: The Death Penalty runs counter to the very definition of Justice Where the definition of justice is giving each their due, the death penalty does nothing to further giving any party in the Criminal Justice System their due. Let's take a moment to show the distinction between giving each what they deserve and giving each what they are entitled to and why, since the government is the actor in this resolution, the two are completely distinct. First of all, there is no way to objectively determine what one deserves, which is why there is such a great distinction in how justice is administered nation to nation. In the US, where we administer justice based on upholding the rights and entitlements of other, we deliver punishments that protect said rights. In nations like Saudi Arabia where Sharia Law is administered, punishments are administered based on what one deserves. This creates a morally untenable state of affairs where, since in Saudi Arabia people subjectively believe that homosexuality, infidelity, and apostasy ought to warrant severe beating/whipping or death, the government wills it so. I think that the merits of the US justice system v. the Saudi Arabian system stand on their own. That being said, the death penalty does not further the rights or entitlements of either the victim, the perpetrator, or any other party (like society). Since we have already established that deterrence violates our rights by treating people as means to an end and therefore stripping them of their humanity, that cannot be a reason forwarded. Secondly, life in prison without parole would have the same affect at face value of protecting the liberties of our citizenry, in the event where there is no chance for the criminal to be rehabilitated, taking them off the streets for the remainder of their life would be the same as killing them, the difference being one truly administers justice. Third, the victims of families of victims are not due retribution since if we assumed retribution was due by the state for one act it would be due for all, creating another morally untenable state of affairs where things like circumstance aren't taken in to account. Finally, it costs more after all the appeals processes to implement the death penalty than life in prison, where according to deathpenaltyinfo. org the death penalty costs significantly more than life in prison. For these reasons I negate the resolution and look forward to my opponents rebuttal. Sources: . http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...