Year

2021

Season

Spring

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Practical Philosophy and Applied Ethics (MA)

Department

Philosophy and Religious Studies

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Committee Chairperson

Dr. Andrew Buchwalter

Second Advisor

Dr. Mitchell Haney

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Third Advisor

Dr. Hans-Herbert Koegler

Department Chair

Dr. Andrew Buchwalter

College Dean

George Rainbolt

Abstract

Jacksonville is nationally recognized as being a city that disproportionately places defendants on death row. The author, who has been both a prosecutor and an appellate attorney representing inmates on death row in Jacksonville, believes that the high number of death sentences being issued in this city, at the recommendation of juries, is driven by a strong retributive intuition held by a significant part of Jacksonville’s society. This thesis evaluates the views of three philosophers who played influential roles in the resurgence of retributive theory in the latter half of the twentieth century in America, in seeking to identify and then criticize, in a manner that would be persuasive to a layperson, a defense of pure retributive justice. However, the author found that each of these three philosophers either waivered in maintaining the robust version of retributivism which they claimed to defend, or they attempted to defend that position in a manner that would be uncompelling for this hypothetical layperson juror.

Download

Share

COinS
 

Accessibility Statement

This item was created or digitized before April 24, 2027, or is a reproduction of legacy material created before that date. It is preserved in its original, unmodified state specifically for research, reference, or historical recordkeeping. In accordance with the ADA Title II Final Rule, the Library provides accessible versions of archival materials by request. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the information on the site due to a disability, please submit a request through the following form for assistance.