The Paul Bernardo Trial

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Recommended: Kant’s categorical imperative

From a Kantian point of view, the police in the Paul Bernardo trial, made a wrong decision that has no moral worth, as the punishment of Karla Hamolka did not fit the crime. It is important to know that for Kant a murder is a violation of the Categorical Imperative because one failed to respect humanity as an end (Class Notes). In addition, every individual has a free will, thus a murder could not be justified by any form of excuse (Class Notes). According to this information, we can conclude that in Kant’s eyes, both Bernardo and Hamolka did not respect the Categorical Imperative and thus deserved to be punished. For instance, Kant states, “wrongdoers must be punished, and the punishment must fit the crime” (Rachels and Rachels, 143). Therefore,

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