Sample Solution

Capital punishment has become a highly contested issue in the United States, with opinions typically divided strongly along political and moral lines. A current event related to this debate is the recent execution of Lisa Montgomery in January 2021 by lethal injection (CNN, 2021). This was particularly controversial due to Montgomery’s mental health issues which had been deemed severe enough for her to be determined mentally incompetent for trial. Despite these concerns, she was still found guilty and given the death penalty as punishment.

This case raises numerous ethical questions; should those with mental illnesses be exempt from capital punishment? Does it violate an individual’s human rights if they are denied due process based on their condition? Many argue that there is no distinction between mental illness and physical disability when it comes to sentencing according to DeGrieck et al., 2020) since both can impede an offender’s capacity to make rational decisions or understand the consequences of their actions. As such, special consideration ought to be made when evaluating cases involving mentally impaired individuals so that justice is served equitably across all members of society.