Capital punishment, however, does reflect the retributive perspective and is the most obvious modern manifestation of Hammurabi's code. Even so, the moral righteousness of capital punishment is questionable for several reasons. First, capital punishment is illogical and hypocritical. If killing another human being is wrong, and if the state kills human beings, then the state is committing a wrongful act. Second, capital punishment can be considered cruel and unusual. Third, capital punishment precludes the state from promoting positive moral values in favor of a perceived increase in public safety. Whether public safety is increased by the use of capital punishment is also questionable. For the most part, capital punishment is used "solely for symbolic purposes," (Turow, cited by Stern, 2003). Capital punishment is the epitome of revenge-based, retributive justice. It would seem that even if revenge were morally just, that the state would have no justifiable role in exacting revenge....
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