ABSTRACT
This chapter contains a very brief introduction to capital punishment, followed by a thought experiment. It is followed by a short discussion and then a series of questions. Capital punishment is when the state tries someone for a crime, finds them guilty, and executes them as a form of punishment. The method of execution varies but common methods include firing squad, stoning, electric chair, beheading, hanging, gas chamber and lethal injection. The example presents a case about a murderer who killed twenty people and the punishment given to him. The questions are intended to get the philosophy students thinking about the problems. They have used these kinds of questions in seminars as the questions set for seminars, so they also think that they can be used to spark conversation and discussion. The chapter also gives a cursory sketch of some of the ways in which philosophers have responded to the thought experiment.
