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Why would a person volunteer/end up being the one to carry out capital punishment?
Whether you agree with the death penalty or not, why would you be the one to carry it out (speaking of both volunteers in countries where it is carried out more privately, and countries where it is more public and brutal, such as stonings in the Middle East)
I am interested in the psychology of the individuals that carry these acts out (in relation to the culture) only.
Is it a demonstration of power? Bravery? For bragging rights?
What kind of characters are the people that volunteer or end up being the individuals that perform these executions/killings?
I am not speaking of only Muslims. The death penalty (formally or informally) is carried out in various cultures, and I am looking for a parallel of the individuals that perform them.
Please keep answers as objective as possible, and about the individuals that carry out the executions.
Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for, and even though I was thinking from a cultural perspective, this question would have been better placed in psychology.
I remember quite well learning Milgrim's study, and it is very relevant here.
I think what is poorly misunderstood is that a MAJORITY of people would carry out these acts if threatened by authority. Bravo... thanks
1 Answer
- Susan SLv 71 decade agoFavourite answer
Why Do People Want To Be Executioners? A Review of The Last Face You’ll Ever See by Ivan Solotaroff
The webpage below is a very good introduction to this. Here's the beginning:
"Did you ever wonder what kind of person wants to be a public executioner—the prison employee who carries out the death sentence? Ivan Solotaroff wanted to know. He talked to several of them and wrote about their reasons in The Last Face You’ll Ever See (Harper Collins, 2001). "
