Capital Punishment, History and Ethical Dilemma

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an analysis of the use of capital punishment in the U.S., with an emphasis on its historical background and ethical/moral issues surrounding the topic that the health care system and providers are faced with. The paper presents a detailed introduction and constitutional justifications with case citations, as well as organization/group justifications of capital punishment.

From the Paper:

"The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation representing 120 national nurses association around the world (International, 1998), including ANA. The ICN position statement (1988) titled "Torture, Death, Penalty and Participation by Nurses in Executions," declares "the death penalty to be the ultimate form of inhumanity." ICN also adopted the position (1998) which includes the statement that the rights of every person "...includes the right to die with dignity" (p.1). It is extremely clear that the ICN opposes any involvement with capital punishment (Mason, 1997). A nurse might challenged the fact the ending a patient life might be possible if the nurse accepts that the justice system has imposed the death penalty on the person, not the nurse. In addition, the nurse understands that the condemned person will be put to death one way or another, with or without the nurse. However, a common concern voiced by several nurses' colleagues is that "it [ending a life] goes against what nursing stands for."

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