Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to a

Question

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to acknowledge that errors are possible in the judicial system. If it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt, certain situations would surely warrant the death penalty; as it is, however, capital punishment is never justified.

Which of the following most logically supports the conclusion?

A. Our legal system offers alternative punishments.

B. It is immoral to punish any crime by death.

C. One must consider the cultural and political implications of the death penalty.

D. Capital punishment is wrong as long as the possibility exist of convincing an innocent person

E. Our culture does not have a uniform morality.

sonalgmat123 · Answer

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to acknowledge that errors are possible in the judicial system. If it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt, certain situations would surely warrant the death penalty; as it is, however, capital punishment is never justified.

It should be D .. Logical conclusion

Which of the following most logically supports the conclusion?

A. Our legal system offers alternative punishments.

B. It is immoral to punish any crime by death.

C. One must consider the cultural and political implications of the death penalty.

D. Capital punishment is wrong as long as the possibility exist of convincing an innocent person

E. Our culture does not have a uniform morality.

vaibhav1221 · Answer

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to acknowledge that errors are possible in the judicial system. If it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt, certain situations would surely warrant the death penalty; as it is, however, capital punishment is never justified.

Which of the following most logically supports the conclusion?

A. Our legal system offers alternative punishments. -  The argument is not talking about an alternative punishment or even pointing towards it. INCORRECT

B. It is immoral to punish any crime by death. -  It is not immoral to punish by death but it is immoral to punish an innocent by death. This prompt states about convicting an innocent of a crime he/she has not committed and punishing him/her by death is barbaric but there is no magical way to ascertain the guilt without a shadow of a doubt. INCORRECT

C. One must consider the cultural and political implications of the death penalty. -  Irrelevant

D. Capital punishment is wrong as long as the possibility exist of convincing an innocent person -  Refer explanation for option B. CORRECT

E. Our culture does not have a uniform morality. -  Irrelevant

globaldesi · Answer

Official Explanation:

This question requires you to identify the reasoning in the argument, and then apply it by determining the implied meaning of the phrase as it is. Because the phrase is followed by the word however, the best answer will contrast the information contained in the modifier (‘if phrase) before it: if it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt. The only answer choice that offers this contrast is choice (D). The other answer choices (A), (B), (C), and (E) all offer potential support for the conclusion that capital punishment is never justified.

Choice (D)  is the only one that properly fits the context created by the “if? phrase and, therefore, is the correct answer.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

A. Our legal system offers alternative punishments.  There is nothing in the stimulus that talks about alternative punishments. Eliminate.

B. It is immoral to punish any crime by death.  This is incorrect. The stimulus explicitly states, "If it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt, certain situations  would surely warrant the death penalty ". Therefore, it is incorrect to generalize as this option does. Eliminate.

C. One must consider the cultural and political implications of the death penalty.  There is nothing in the stimulus that talks about cultural or political implications of the death penalty. Eliminate.

D. Capital punishment is wrong as long as the possibility exist of convincing an innocent person  Correct answer. Along with the snippet provided in ruling out option (B), the passage clearly states, "...fails to acknowledge that  errors are possible  in the judicial system". This clearly refers to innocents being punished.

E. Our culture does not have a uniform morality.  There is nothing in the stimulus that talks about "our culture". Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

Isha2701 · Answer

Hi,  Bunuel   KarishmaB   GMATNinja  - Can you please explain why A is wrong?

guddo · Answer

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to acknowledge that errors are possible in the judicial system. If it were possible to ascertain guilt without a shadow of a doubt, certain situations would surely warrant the death penalty; as it is, however, capital punishment is never justified. 
 
Which of the following most logically supports the conclusion?

The argument says the death penalty could be justified only if guilt were absolutely certain. But since the judicial system can make mistakes, capital punishment is never justified. So the best support is the idea that  as long as there is any real chance of executing an innocent person , the death penalty is wrong.

(A) Our legal system offers alternative punishments.

This is too weak. The conclusion is not that capital punishment is unnecessary, but that it is never justified because errors are possible.

(B) It is immoral to punish any crime by death.

This is much too broad. The argument explicitly says some situations would warrant the death penalty if guilt could be known with complete certainty.

(C) One must consider the cultural and political implications of the death penalty.

This is irrelevant. The argument is about judicial error, not broader cultural or political effects.

(D) Capital punishment is wrong as long as the possibility exists of convicting an innocent person.

This directly supports the conclusion. It matches the argument exactly: because error is possible, the death penalty is unjustified.

(E) Our culture does not have a uniform morality.

This is irrelevant. The argument does not depend on disagreement in society.

Answer: (D)

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to a

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to a

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards