The death penalty is the execution of a person for a wrongdoing that they had done. With that said, this life issue is not one that is practiced on an everyday type procedure. It is used when the crime committed is either incredibly bad or repeated more than once. While researching this life issue of capital punishment, a common idea was shared. This idea consisted of the thought that this death penalty should only be used under extreme conditions. Also, most of the ideas shared about this issue were that it is wrong to take someone's life away no matter what they have done. There are many different beliefs and understandings based on the death penalty. So it can be seen that what the Church, other sources, and myself believe about the death penalty may be different from one another. .
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that, "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2267). If a person has continually committed bad crimes, then that is the only way that the death penalty can be enforced. Also, the identity and responsibility of the immoral action must become known. However, that does not give the right for the death penalty unless that is the only way to prevent this person from harming more people. "If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2267). Even though it seems wrong to take away a life from somebody, the rare occasion of the death penalty is used to protect the common good and human dignity.
