The Death Penalty: For and Against

(Paperback)

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Description

Two distinguished social and political philosophers take opposing positions in this highly engaging work. Louis P. Pojman justifies the practice of execution by appealing to the principle of retribution while Jeffrey Reiman argues that although the death penalty is a just punishment for murder, we are not morally obliged to execute murderers.

Reviews

A valuable book for those who are uncertain about the use of capital punishment in our society. -- Todd Jermstad * Federal Probation *
Because it combines a philosophical framework and a debate-oriented approach, The Death Penalty: For and Against makes a unique contribution to the literature on capital punishment . . . for those wanting theoretical and historical material to better understand capital punishment, Pojman and Reiman do not disappoint. -- Samuel B. Hoff, Delaware State University * Law and Politics Book Review *

Author Bio

Jeffrey Reiman is William Fraser McDowell professor of philosophy at American University and the author of Critical Moral Liberalism (Rowman & Littlefield, 1997), The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, Justice and Modern Moral Philosophy, and In Defense of Political Philosophy.

Louis P. Pojman is professor of philosophy at the United States Military Academy. He has been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Copenhagen and is an active environmentalist. He is the author of several books, including The Logic of Subjectivity, Religious Belief and the Will; Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong, and Life and Death: Grappling with the Moral Dilemmas of Our Time.