Lawful Good Churches and Death Penalty (D+D 3.5)

[John Doe]

So I'm creating the background for a nation in a campaign and the idea is that in the last few years, a mad CE king decided to try and eliminate the dominate church in his nation, a LG church of justice, honor, chivalry and zeal. So the short version is the CE king's army got curb stomped by the church and the king committed suicide in order to escape a church tribunal.

However I'm wondering how the church should deal with the king's advisers and military commanders. For those that are found guilty of willing aiding the king, should the church imprison them or is capital punishment an option? Would such punishment be the equivalent as killing a prisoner or since this has gone through a fair legal process, the death sentence just?

[Godskook]

Capital Punishment is not really alignment-specific, and if anything, would be *more* likely for a lawful group, and wouldn't really matter on the good/evil scale.

[Xefas]

Lawful Good:
-Respects the Dignity of Sentient Life
-Puts the health of the group before the individual

Given these two points, I'd say that a Lawful Good church would not be opposed to a death penalty if, and only if, it were absolutely necessary for the continued health of their nation and congregation. And if they were to put someone to death, they would do so in the least painful and most dignified way possible (no 'sodomized to death by otyughs in the city square' or anything like that).

If some of the offenders were honestly repentant, and/or not terribly dangerous anymore, they wouldn't lump them in with the other, more severe people just because they don't like them. I mean, the King's Culinary Adviser probably not going to be lumped in with the King's Baby-Stabbin' Adviser (official title).

[Dalek-K]

Giving the death penalty to Xykon :xykon: would be evil?

No

Giving the death penalty to Mr Bread stealer ... yes very anti-LG

[Marnath]

I think the LG's could use capital punishment, but unless there were war crimes a lot of the generals and advisors probably haven't done anything to deserve execution, and in some cases not even imprisonment. It's important to note that some of those people were serving because it would go badly for their families if they disobeyed, rather than serving out of any loyalty to the evil king. A wise LG tribunal hopefully knows the difference. "Mercy for the innocent."

[true_shinken]

For those that are found guilty of willing aiding the king, should the church imprison them or is capital punishment an option? Would such punishment be the equivalent as killing a prisoner or since this has gone through a fair legal process, the death sentence just?
In D&D, killing someone means that they might be raised. That church is probably worried that some cleric out there might raise the dead king. They woulldn't want the same trouble with his advisors.

[tyckspoon]

Depends on how modernized you want their thinking to be. Most medievalesque settings are not particularly concerned about putting somebody to death; an LG group may go through the proper formalities of a trial and official declaration of somebody's wrong-doings, but you're not going to see World Court-like delays in laying out a perfect case and then waiting 10+ years to actually carry out the sentence. One of the hallmarks of medieval-styled fantasy settings is that life tends to be relatively cheap.

On the other hand, if you want them to come across as Good and Wise to modern and more liberal sensibilities, you'll probably see a lot of softer sentences- community service and monetary reparations for those who can afford it among the less-culpable (they were just under orders or were coerced to act, but still inflicted notable harm on other people), lengthy imprisonments for the higher-up/those who took their own initiative to do something nasty, death sentences reserved only for those who originated the orders at the top of the structure.

A little depends on how much magic is available in your setting as well. If you kill somebody, unless you take efforts to secure the body and/or the soul, somebody might Raise or Resurrect that person and he'll just continue his evil somewhere else. If you imprison him, you know where he is and can keep an eye on him much more easily.

[hamishspence]

The phrase in PHB2 is "Mercy for those that deserve mercy"- a slightly different thing.

BoED states both that "Execution for serious crimes is widely practiced and does not qualify as evil" and that, at least ideally, exalted characters should try to redeem captured evildoers if reasonably possible.

It also says inflicting undue suffering is evil.

So, depending on what you think should count as a "serious crime" and who count as "unreasonable to try redeeming" then you might execute the worst of the worst,
offer their subordinates a chance at redemption as something they can choose in place of the death penalty,
and impose lesser sentences on those who haven't done truly "serious crimes".

And execute the condemned by reasonably merciful means.