The Moral Order of the Act of Killing

Abstract

In this paper, we want to show how the act of killing, considered one of the crimes that offends collective morality to a greater degree, can nevertheless be considered a justified act of a moral nature by a group of subjects serving a sentence for murder. We propose the notion of “moral order” to understand the regime of justifications, practical rules that govern deadly violence, and underlying value conceptions that emerge from the narratives of our interviewees. This moral order, which would thrive in conditions of exclusion, would be sustained by social networks that tolerate, reinforce, and regulate the moral codes associated with criminal violence.

Keywords

• homicidios, moralidad, orden moral, criminología cultural, venezuela