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Capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated practice that fails to acknowledge that errors are possible in the judicial system.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
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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.
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Hi experts,
Please help us to understand reason why each choice is right or wrong. Thank you so much.
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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.
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Watch out for the typo "convincing" it should be "convicting".
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Only answer D touches the point whether capital punishment is justified or not.

Also, kindly change the typo in option D. Thanks!
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