What are the psychological effects on those who carry out the death penalty?
There are significant psychological effects on those who carry out the death penalty, often referred to as executioners or execution teams.
Studies and anecdotal accounts suggest that participating in executions can have a lasting negative impact on mental health.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance can be experienced (Muller, 2014).
Moral Distress: The conflict between duty and personal beliefs can cause significant emotional strain (van den Brink et al., 2010).
Depression, Anxiety, and Substance Abuse: Increased risk of these mental health issues is reported by some execution personnel (Haney, 2003).
Social Isolation: Difficulty forming or maintaining relationships due to the secretive nature of their work (Baldas,2012).
Interestingly, research suggests that involvement in executions can lead to a change in perspective on the death penalty.Many who initially supported capital punishment report opposing it after witnessing the process firsthand (NPR, 2022).
APA: Haney, C. (2003). Mental health consequences of carrying out capital
punishment. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the
Law, 31(2), 197-204.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough, I agree that death penalty should not be abolished to prevent horrible crimes, i think there needs to be some aftercare for the people who carry it out, such as providing therapy. I know that in Japan, there is a system where there are multiple bottons and only one of them is the one that actually kills the prisoner, so that they wouldn't feel as guilty. But still it is a lot of burden on them and it must be hard to think that they may be the one that killed them. I think in order to prevent that, why not make everything automatic and let machines do it. Then no one would feel guilty.
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