ABSTRACT
This chapters discuss various forms of killing and reasons behind these, moving through the spectrum of those which attract universal approbation to those protected by law to those that are even venerated. In 1767, in an effort to prevent people from killing children in order to get the death penalty – ‘suicide by proxy’, as Stuart called it – the death penalty for such action was removed. This also failed until the early 19th century. Honour killings cross over into the realm of capital punishment in cultures where a woman’s ‘dishonour’ is defined in law. In November 2017, newlyweds Abdul Hadi, 24, and Hasina Bibi, 19, were killed in Pakistan after marrying without the family’s permission. War is probably one of the most universally accepted forms of killing – a ‘necessary evil’, perhaps. While most people are taught that killing is bad, they are sent to war with the instruction that killing is necessary, honourable, and even heroic.
