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GCSE · Thematic Studies

RS.TE6 The Death Penalty

AQA 8062 · Calculators not allowed · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

This question checks key vocabulary used when discussing the death penalty.

(a)State what is meant by the death penalty.(1)

(b)State what is meant by a retentionist.(1)

(c)State what is meant by an abolitionist.(1)

(d)State what is meant by sanctity of life.(1)

(e)State what is meant by a miscarriage of justice.(1)

(Total for Question 1 is 5 marks)

Give three facts about the death penalty in the UK.

(Total for Question 2 is 3 marks)

Explain two religious teachings that could be used to support the death penalty. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority in your answer.

(Total for Question 3 is 4 marks)

Explain two contrasting religious teachings that could be used against the death penalty. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority in your answer.

(Total for Question 4 is 5 marks)

This question is about religious and non-religious perspectives on the death penalty. It is the AQA-style 24-mark, five-part question: parts (a) to (d) are worth 12 marks; part (e) is the 12-mark evaluation.

(a)State one country, other than the UK, that still retains the death penalty today.(1)

(b)Give two reasons why the UK abolished the death penalty.(2)

(c)Explain two religious teachings relevant to the state's right to punish serious crime severely. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority in your answer.(4)

(d)Explain two contrasting views, religious and/or non-religious, on whether the death penalty is ever justified. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority or another source in your answer.(5)

(e)Evaluate this statement: 'The death penalty can never be justified.' In your answer you should: refer to religious teaching, refer to different points of view, reach a justified conclusion.(12)

(Total for Question 5 is 24 marks)

Explain two non-religious arguments about the death penalty: one in favour of retaining it, and one in favour of abolishing it. Refer to non-religious beliefs in your answer.

(Total for Question 6 is 4 marks)

Give three facts about how the death penalty is used or debated around the world today.

(Total for Question 7 is 3 marks)

Mark scheme · RS.TE6 The Death Penalty

Question 1

(a) B1 a legal punishment in which the state executes a person who has been convicted of a serious crime, oe
(a) Answer: A legal punishment in which the state executes a person who has been convicted of a serious crime.
(b) B1 a person who believes the death penalty should be kept as a legal punishment, oe
(b) Answer: A person who believes the death penalty should be kept as a legal punishment.
(c) B1 a person who believes the death penalty should be ended as a legal punishment, oe
(c) Answer: A person who believes the death penalty should be ended as a legal punishment.
(d) B1 the belief that all human life is holy or sacred, often because it is seen as given by God, oe
(d) Answer: The belief that all human life is holy or sacred, often because it is seen as given by God.
(e) B1 a case in which someone is wrongly convicted or wrongly punished for a crime, oe
(e) Answer: A case in which someone is wrongly convicted or wrongly punished for a crime.

Question 2

B1 the death penalty was abolished for murder in Great Britain by the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, oe
B1 the death penalty was abolished completely, for all remaining offences, in the UK in 1998, oe
B1 before abolition, the death penalty in the UK was used for the most serious crimes, such as murder, oe
Answer: Any three: abolished for murder in 1965; abolished completely for all offences in 1998; before abolition it was used for the most serious crimes such as murder.

Question 3

B1 point 1: some Christians point to Old Testament teaching that taking a human life can justly be answered with the offender's own life, oe
B1 development: 'Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind' (Genesis 9:6), oe
B1 point 2: Islamic teaching on qisas gives a murder victim's family a recognised legal right to seek equal retribution, oe
B1 development: 'Do not take a life which Allah has made sacred, except in the course of justice' (Qur'an 17:33), read by some as permitting lawful execution for murder, oe
Answer: E.g. Genesis 9:6's teaching on shedding blood for blood; the Qur'an's qisas framework in Qur'an 17:33.

Question 4

B1 teaching 1: some Christians argue Jesus's teaching and example show mercy should outweigh strict retribution, even for serious wrongdoing, oe
B1 development: when a crowd wanted to stone a woman, Jesus said 'Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her' (John 8:7), and no one did, oe
B1 teaching 2: some Muslims argue Qur'anic teaching on the value of life urges extreme caution about ever taking a life, even where the law permits it, oe
B1 development: 'whoever kills a soul unjustly... it is as if he had slain mankind entirely' (Qur'an 5:32) is used by some to stress the seriousness of taking any life, oe
B1 reference to a source of wisdom and authority made accurately, oe
Answer: Contrast: mercy shown in John 8:7 vs the extreme caution about taking life drawn from Qur'an 5:32.

Question 5

(a) B1 any country that currently retains the death penalty, e.g. the United States (in some states), China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, oe
(a) Answer: E.g. the United States (in some states) (also accept: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other retentionist countries).
(b) B1 concern about the risk of executing an innocent person, since a wrongful execution can never be undone, oe
(b) B1 changing attitudes towards human rights and the value of human life in the UK over the twentieth century, oe
(b) Answer: E.g. concern about wrongful convictions being irreversible; changing UK attitudes towards human rights.
(c) B1 point 1: some Christians believe governing authorities are given a genuine right to punish serious wrongdoing, oe
(c) B1 development: the ruling authority 'does not bear the sword for no reason. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer' (Romans 13:4), oe
(c) B1 point 2: Islamic teaching sets out qisas as a recognised right of a murder victim's family, prescribed in law, oe
(c) B1 development: 'O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered' (Qur'an 2:178), oe
(c) Answer: E.g. the state's authority to punish wrongdoing (Romans 13:4); the qisas law of retribution (Qur'an 2:178).
(d) B1 view 1: some, both religious and non-religious, argue the death penalty is justified for the very worst crimes, as the only fully proportionate response and a permanent guarantee against reoffending, oe
(d) B1 development: this can draw on the qisas principle recognised in Qur'an 2:178, alongside secular arguments that the punishment should match the severity of the crime, oe
(d) B1 view 2: others, both religious and non-religious, argue it can never be justified because the risk of executing an innocent person can never be fully removed, oe
(d) B1 development: this can draw on Jesus's example of mercy in John 8:7, alongside secular human-rights arguments that an irreversible punishment is too dangerous to use in a justice system that is not infallible, oe
(d) B1 reference to a source of wisdom and authority or another appropriate source made accurately, oe
(d) Answer: Contrast: justified for the worst crimes (Qur'an 2:178, plus secular proportionality arguments) vs never justified because of the risk of irreversible error (John 8:7, plus secular human-rights arguments).
(e) L4 (10-12): A well-argued, balanced answer that considers more than one point of view in a developed way, using accurate and detailed references to religious teaching and/or scripture to support each point, and reaches a clear, justified conclusion. Either conclusion (that the death penalty is, or is not, ever justified) is equally creditable at this level, provided it is well supported.
(e) L3 (7-9): A clear and reasoned answer that considers more than one point of view, supported by relevant references to religious teaching and/or scripture, though the justification of the conclusion may be less developed.
(e) L2 (4-6): A reasoned answer that considers at least one point of view, with some relevant supporting evidence, but with limited or no consideration of an alternative view.
(e) L1 (1-3): One or more relevant points are made, but with little or no supporting evidence and no reasoned conclusion.
(e) L0 (0): No relevant content.
(e) Indicative content:
- Note for markers: this is the most contested question in the theme. No conclusion is intrinsically right or wrong. Credit a well-argued agree, disagree, or nuanced conclusion equally, provided it is supported by accurate evidence and engages with an opposing view.
- Agree (never justified) - religious: some Christians point to Jesus's intervention in John 8:7 ('let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone') as teaching that judgement should be tempered with mercy, and that no human is in a position to demand another's death.
- Agree (never justified) - religious: some Muslims argue that although the Qur'an permits qisas (Qur'an 2:178), it also strongly commends forgoing it in favour of compensation or forgiveness (Qur'an 5:45), showing mercy is presented as the better path even where retribution is technically allowed.
- Agree (never justified) - non-religious: a strong secular argument is that no justice system is error-free; wrongful convictions happen, and unlike imprisonment, an execution cannot be reversed once carried out.
- Agree (never justified) - non-religious: many human-rights organisations argue the state taking a life undermines the very principle, that killing is wrong, that the punishment is meant to uphold; research into deterrence is also inconsistent, with many studies finding no reliable evidence that the death penalty deters murder more effectively than long imprisonment.
- Disagree (can be justified) - religious: some Christians cite Genesis 9:6 ('whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed') as showing that judicial execution for murder can be religiously justified.
- Disagree (can be justified) - religious: qisas in Islam (Qur'an 2:178, 17:33) gives a murder victim's family a recognised right to seek equal retribution, which some Muslims argue is a legitimate form of justice that should be respected.
- Disagree (can be justified) - non-religious: some argue the death penalty is the only punishment that permanently and completely removes any risk that a convicted murderer could kill again, and that for the very worst crimes only it offers a proportionate response and full acknowledgement of a victim's family's loss.
- Disagree (can be justified) - non-religious: many countries, including the United States (in some states), China and Saudi Arabia, continue to retain and use the death penalty, showing it remains a live, seriously held legal and political position rather than a settled question; some argue wrongful convictions should be addressed through rigorous appeal processes rather than requiring total abolition.
- A balanced conclusion might note that the UK's abolition (1965 for murder, complete in 1998) reflects one legal and moral judgement, arrived at over time, but not a universally shared one, since other countries continue to retain the death penalty; the strongest single point in the debate on either side is arguably the tension between the demand for proportionate justice and the risk of an irreversible error.

Question 6

B1 retentionist point: some non-religious people argue that for the very worst crimes, only the death penalty is a fully proportionate ('just deserts') response, oe
B1 development: on this view, society should be able to express the seriousness of a crime such as murder through the strongest available penalty, oe
B1 abolitionist point: many Humanists argue the risk of executing an innocent person makes the death penalty too dangerous to use, however serious the crime, oe
B1 development: unlike imprisonment, a wrongful execution can never be corrected once it has been carried out, oe
Answer: E.g. a secular proportionality/just-deserts argument for retaining it; a secular irreversibility argument for abolishing it.

Question 7

B1 a number of countries, including the United States (in some states), China and Saudi Arabia, still retain and use the death penalty, oe
B1 the methods and legal processes used for the death penalty vary widely between the countries that retain it, oe
B1 international organisations, such as Amnesty International, campaign for its worldwide abolition, oe
Answer: Any three: some countries, e.g. the United States (in some states), China and Saudi Arabia, still retain it; methods and processes vary between retentionist countries; organisations such as Amnesty International campaign for global abolition.

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