Deck 15: Punishment and the Death Penalty

Question 1

According to your text, how many black high school dropouts are prisoners or ex-convicts by the time they reach their mid-thirties?

A)6%
B)30%
C)45%
D)60%

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to consequentialist reasoning, if other measures than imprisonment work better to deter or prevent crime then we ought to use these other measures.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
If we could be sure that a person was going to commit a crime, then we would be doing the right thing to stop this by putting him in prison.

Answer 3

CP

Question 4

A retributivist would uphold a just punishment for certain crimes even if the imposition of this punishment did not deter anyone from committing such crimes.

Question 5

Which of our moral theories is most likely to be used in support of the retribution argument for capital punishment?

A)Categorical imperative
B)Virtue ethics
C)Utilitarianism
D)Relativism

Question 6

Since 1989, there have been convicts who were found innocent due to DNA testing.

A)17
B)88
C)134
D)302

Question 7

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
While sure and swift punishment may not work for all, it surely works for those who understand the real threat of being punished if they break the law.

Question 8

According to the deterrence argument for legal punishment, any kind of punishment is justified no matter what the consequences.

Question 9

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
There should be no legal punishment for crimes that persons are forced to commit for they are not really responsible for these crimes.

Question 10

The cost of life in prison without parole compared to an execution is

A)Slightly higher.
B)Significantly lower.
C)About twice as much.
D)About the same.

Question 11

Retributivists would support a not guilty plea for persons who are in fact "insane" for, because of their mental dysfunction, they then are not responsible for what they do.

Question 12

Which of the following types of crime will always be difficult to deter?

A)Perjury.
B)Shoplifting.
C)Crimes of bribery.
D)Crimes of passion.

Question 13

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
Some crimes are so horrible that those committing them are appropriately punished with life imprisonment without parole.

Question 14

To suggest that capital punishment is a different moral question for nomadic peoples living in tents, or other temporary shelters, than it is for societies with maximum-security prisons, involves what kind of reasoning?

A)Utilitarianism
B)Natural law
C)Relativism
D)Kantian

Question 15

Indeterminate sentences would be more likely to be favored by those with a retributivist than those with a deterrence viewpoint.

Question 16

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
At least while they are in prison they cannot do any harm to those outside the prison.

Question 17

What is the meaning of "lex talionis"?

A)Fair and Square.
B)Justice Comes to All.
C)An Eye for An Eye.
D)The Talons of a Lexus are Strong.

Question 18

Punishment is externally related to lawbreaking, according to the deterrence viewpoint.

Question 19

Which country has the highest incarceration rate in the world?

A)United States
B)Singapore
C)China
D)Russia

Question 20

Retributivists always support a lex talionis view and, thus, always will support the death penalty for murderers (as being a life for a life).

Question 21

Explain the role of structural bias in Angela Davis' argument for decarceration. What are some alternatives to incarceration that Davis suggests? Do you think decarceration is a viable approach to criminal justice? Explain your position by considering the relationship of punishment to criminal justice.

Question 22

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
To the extent that a person could not help what they did in committing a crime, his legal responsibility (and appropriate punishment)is diminished.

Question 23

A utilitarian would necessarily be opposed to the restorative justice approach to criminal justice.

Question 24

Which of the following approaches to legal punishment best describes Davis' decarceration argument?

A)Restorative justice.
B)Deterrence.
C)Retributive justice.
D)Natural law.

Question 25

Punishment is externally related to lawbreaking, according to the retributivist viewpoint.

Question 26

Describe the potential arguments against the deterrence approach to legal punishment. Describe the potential arguments against the retributivist approach to legal punishment. Which do you believe to be the more justified approach: deterrence, retribution, or some other approach to criminal justice? (Explain and justify your position.)

Question 27

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
It is only right that someone who has broken the law should be punished by the law.

Question 28

Compare the positions of Mill and Kant with regard to the death penalty. Explain whether each defends or denies that the death penalty is morally justified. Be sure to explain the reasoning behind each of their positions.

Question 29

Label the following examples of reasons for legal punishment as Consequentialist Deterrence (CD), Consequentialist Prevention (CP), or Retributivist (R):
Punishment ought to fit the crime.