LAJ 401: Ethics, Diversity, and Conflict
REACTION PAPER FOUR
Please watch the 2002 HBO documentary The Execution of Wanda Jean about the last appeals
of convicted murderer Wanda Jean Allen in Oklahoma. The film particularly brings up the issue
of executing the intellectually disabled.
Do you think Wanda Jean was intellectually disabled?
If she was intellectually disabled, was she morally culpable for her crime?
What role, if any, do you think her race and sexual orientation played in her punishment and
appeal process?
Should it have mattered that the victims family had forgiven Wanda and did not want the state
to pursue the death penalty? Why or why not?
Compare and contrast the concepts of moral culpability and criminal culpability. Use specific
examples that illustrate the distinction between these two terms. Please look up the McNaughten
Rule and discuss how it does or does not apply here.
Testimonials
