Therefore, there is no man, no society, no human authority, no science, no “indication” at all whether it be medical, eugenic, social, economic, or moral that may offer or give a valid judicial title for a direct deliberate disposal of an innocent human life In 1966 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) asked Fr.
James T. McHugh and his executive assistant, Michael Taylor, proposed a different plan, facilitating the NRLC move toward its independence from the Roman Catholic Church.
[8] The United Nations General Assembly has adopted, in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016[9] non-binding resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, with a view to eventual abolition.
Proportionately appropriate use of force can, and will in some circumstances, refer to lethal force if a law enforcement agent genuinely believes that ending the life of one civilian would result in the preservation of his life, or the lives of his fellow civilians, as is outlined in the 'Permissible Circumstances for the Use of Firearms' section of the Pocket Book.
[12] One of these model policies states that law enforcement agents will engage in reasonable necessary force to efficiently bring a scenario to a conclusion, giving specific thought to both the safety of themselves and other civilians.
Law enforcement officers are given the prerogative to engage in department-approved methods to safely bring a conclusion to a scenario and are also given the ability to use issued equipment to resolve issues in scenarios where they are required to protect themselves or others from damage, to bring resistant individuals under control, or to safely conclude unlawful incidents.
[13] However, it has been highlighted through events such as the killing of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri,[14] which resulted in public unrest, that there is confusion and debate surrounding the use of firearms and lethal force.
Rosenfeld[15] states that there is considerable literature that gives reason to believe that social conditions also have a part to play in how law enforcement killings can occur.
Rosenfeld states that there are numerous studies that have been conducted which link law enforcement agents' use of lethal force to the area's rate of violent crime, the size of the non-indigenous population and the socioeconomic position of the community concerned.
[19] The use of lethal force from law enforcement agents in the United States created widespread feeling amongst US citizens that they were not being protected by the police.
The justice system mostly found that these agents acted within the boundaries of the law because the actions of the people who were shot were judged to be sufficiently questionable in character for the police officer to fear for their own life or the lives of others.