This case calls for the determination of what punishment is appropriate to a murderer. Based on the evidence, Bob was born to wolves. He lacked communication and human knowledge. He commits murder when he kills or consumes another person. The challenge is to determine the appropriate penalty for each case. Kant, Van de Haag and others provide examples of how Bob should be punished.
Kant believes that the law of retribution should ensure that all criminals receive fair punishments. Kant supports retributivism. This is the belief that the law for retribution ensures that all crimes receive proportionate punishments. (Kant and al. 2020). Therefore, murderers get executed. Van de Haag, on the other hand, thinks that although the death sentence is proposed to discourage crime, it is vital to use common sense and apply the punishment equitably (Haag & Conrad, 2016). Accordingly, death sentences should be evaluated in relation to human dignity as well as the appropriate punishment for the offender. To ensure that society injustices don’t affect the execution of death sentences, he says it is important to consider the context in which the crime occurred.
Kant says Bob should receive the death penalty to show his vengeance. According to the law of payment, offenders are subject to a proportionate penalty for their crimes. A murderer such as Bob must be executed because he murdered the child. Van den Haag, on the other hand, promotes social justice through the application of the death penalty. Van den Haag, in this example, would give Bob a life sentence rather than the death penalty. This is because Bob didn’t know much about human communication and did not have the emotional intelligence to be able to interact with others. Bob would not be able to harm other people by the smaller penalty.
Van den Haag’s perspective is a much more coherent way to approach the problem. It is important to look at the circumstances of the crime in order to make sure that punishments for crimes are administered fairly and justly. Bob’s mental and emotional problems must be taken into account when setting his sentence, regardless of the need for severe punishment to discourage criminal behavior. Kant doesn’t consider the context or other elements that might contribute to criminal behavior.