Lawfull

If we perform an unlawful punishment on the convict, then we are in violation of human dignity. We are not performing an unlawful punishment on the convict. Therefore, we are not in violation of human dignity. In Ernest van den Haag's argument, he discusses how the death penalty does not "legitimize the unlawful imposition of identical unpleasantness". Van den Haag points out the difference between a crime, such as kidnapping or murder, and execution, is that the first is "unlawful and undeserved" while the second is "lawful and deserved punishment for an unlawful act". The scriptural passage that Sister Helen Prejean quotes does not prohibit the usage of the death penalty. She mentions Jesus of Nazareth saying, "...not to return hate for hate..," and while all this is true, in contrary, we are not returning hate because the same crime is not being returned or done upon the convict. Just as when a teen is given expulsion for seriously harming another kid, the kid does not hurt the troubled teen in return.