Prosecutorial Discretion and the Death Penalty

An Integral Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID12969814
AuthorsMatthew T Mangino (corresponding author), David R Champion (Slippery Rock University)
Year2013
Volume2
Pages426-437
Publication date2013-10-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Criminology and Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1929-4409 • E-ISSN: 1929-4409
PublisherLifescience Global (PUBLISHER • CA)
DOI10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.39
OpenAlexW2130661422
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

The prosecutor’s choice to pursue the death penalty is one of the most momentous decisions he or she will face. Capital punishment represents the ultimate power of the state over its citizenry, and the decision to take the life of an offender is fraught with moral complexity. This paper reviews some of the extant literature on the US death penalty in general and the particular issue of decision-making for prosecutors. Further, we introduce discussion on how Wilber’s Integral theory might be applied to the topic. We present aspects of Integral theory, including the four quadrant model and what Wilber refers to as the Basic Moral Intuition (BMI), as possible tools that may be used to navigate the ethical difficulties surrounding this decision-making process. We anticipate that delving into aspects of the Integral theory and contemplating on how they relate to concrete issues of criminal prosecution may assist CJ practitioners in how they might find pathways to resolutions of ethical quandaries

Cognitive science · Criminology · Discretion · Epistemology · Extant taxon · Intuition · Law and economics · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Free Will and Agency · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Torture, Ethics, and Law

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