Public, Private, and Extra-Judicial Killing
Over the past decade, U.S. officials have taken steps to institutionalize the practice of targeted killing of persons outside an identifiable war zone. In the past, such a policy would have been described as extra-judicial killings. Advocates of this policy claim that the practice is permissible bec...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
[publisher not identified]
[2016]
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In: |
Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
Year: 2016, Volume: 90, Pages: 217-226 |
IxTheo Classification: | KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages KDB Roman Catholic Church NCD Political ethics |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | Over the past decade, U.S. officials have taken steps to institutionalize the practice of targeted killing of persons outside an identifiable war zone. In the past, such a policy would have been described as extra-judicial killings. Advocates of this policy claim that the practice is permissible because the executive reviews and authorizes every targeted strike. I examine the tenability of this claim in light of Aquinas's understanding of the natural principles of justice and their implication for our definition of murder and the duties of a sovereign judge to those subject to his judgment. I conclude that Aquinas's understanding of murder is expansive enough to include the use of lethal force by public authorities when it proceeds from an act of judgment that disregards a presumption of innocence for the accused and her right to a fair trial. |
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ISSN: | 2153-7925 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: American Catholic Philosophical Association, Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5840/acpaproc201822775 |