John Kavanaugh

In the following viewpoint, John Kavanaugh maintains that the death penalty undermines basic ethical tenets because it calls for the depersonalization of humans. As with other forms of deliberate killing, the author argues, capital punishment requires that certain persons be treated as dispensable objects. Yet all human life is sacred and not expendable, contends Kavanaugh; to condone any intentional killing is to declare ethics and morality worthless. Kavanaugh is a columnist for America, a Jesuit magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In what ways have certain groups of people been denigrated and dehumanized, according to Kavanaugh"
2. What does Kavanaugh believe should be the “grounding principle for ethical issues of life and death"”
3. How does the author view the right to self-defense"

There comes a point when a human being has...