On capital punishment

Debating the Evidence of Capital Punishment

Michael Marmot
 Capital punishment terminates a human life. Is there any case at all for a doctor being in favour of it? Hippocrates; first, do no harm; do we really need to spell it out?

At a recent meeting of the Council of the World Medical Association – I represent the BMA there – there was debate over a resolution deploring capital punishment and, specifically, medical involvement. Most national medical associations were in favour of such condemnation, but not all. One appeal was to justice: he shot others, the argument runs, surely he deserves to die. Another appeal was to protecting the public: he is a terrorist, he bombed and maimed, unless we execute him, he’ll kill others.

My contribution to the discussion, fully ready to be criticised by the lawyers in the room, was that there are three possible reasons for the criminal justice system: deterrence, revenge, and protecting the public.

Taking them in reverse order: protecting the public. If a dangerous killer or rapist has been caught, the public need to be protected. Locking up the convicted criminal up is a way of doing that. It is not necessary to execute them in order to protect the public. In fact, in the USA, those handed a sentence of execution, can spend twenty years or more behind bars, as the appeals go on, so the main way the public is protected is locking up the criminal – even if the criminal has been sentenced to death. After such a time, and with the public protected, why go through with the execution?/.../