Download This might not be accurate. For clarity, I suggest a concise definition

Date: 20 February, 2013
Name: Srey Sokkanitha MOK
Country: CAMBODIA
Religion: Buddhist
A story of an ethical dilemma in Cambodia
95% of Cambodia population is Buddhist. From 1975 to 1979 Cambodian people experienced
communist regime which caused 3 million people died from hunger, overwork, killing, and torturing. The
tragedy feeling of Cambodian people has prevented the government’s decision of amending death
penalty in the country when many cases of murder actions, robbery, raping and unethical actions
continuously happen in the country in these recent years.
 Identify the response of each of the five ethical frameworks to that dilemma
Ethical Relativism:
The decisions of government and Cambodian people are right according to their perspectives of
not to see more deaths occur in the country. It resulted from the historical experiences and views that
they cannot bear with the feeling of seeing someone is executed badly. This decision are hold up by all
citizens for not to implement death penalty in the country because they perceive that without this kind
of execution Cambodia will stay in peace and forget about bitter life in the past of political instability.
Divine Command:
Death penalty in Cambodia is perceived to be the wrong decision. According to Buddhism, killing
people and animal lives are considered to be a very bad sin that human should not do. Hence, the death
This might not be accurate. For clarity, I
penalty seems to go against the religious thoughts.
suggest a concise definition of Divine
Command Ethics, followed by the analysis.
Utilitarianism
Base on utilitarianism ethical decision, the government and citizens’ decision are not correct and
unacceptable because it is about having happiness together as whole. What the country decide to not
implement the death penalty appears to look away from the vulnerable groups who affected by murder
actions, robbery, raping and other unethical and illegal cases. We need to balance the happiness of the
country and death penalty may help reduce unethical actions, criminal actions as well as reduce the
deaths from crimes for the country in the future.
This might not be right. For clarity, I suggest a
concise definition of Utilitarian Ethics, followed
by the analysis.
Deontology
When talking about moral and justice, there are contradictory ideas to the death penalty. Killing
in terms of death penalty is immoral action and no death penalty also becomes unjust situation which
shows that we cannot do anything to the person who took a person’s life when prisoning may not give
the message to other people to not attempting to commit killing actions. So from back to front, it is
about killing one another endlessly. Hence, in this kind of ethical decision, government and citizens will
perceive that death penalty is incorrect decision.
This might not be right. For clarity, I suggest a
concise definition of Deontology Ethics,
followed by the analysis.
Virtue Ethics
Base on virtue ethics, death penalty is not acceptable, is not correct, and is not appropriate to
be implemented in Cambodia or any country. When virtue focuses on the best moral actions hence, the
reasons of having death penalty must go against many moral judgments and moral concepts of human
being to do good things. Death penalty is immoral actions already when it comes to killing somebody’s
lives. Thus, based on virtue ethics Cambodian government and citizen are making a right ethical
decision.
This might not be right. For clarity, I suggest a
concise definition of Virtue Ethics, followed by
the analysis.