Dealing Out Death In Judgement, Part 3: Harry Potter And The Deathly Penalty Debate

Minority of One

In the conclusion to my "death penalty in fantasy literature" trilogy, I analyze how capital punishment is dealt with in the Harry Potter series, as well as the wizarding world more broadly. After briefly discussing how both capital punishment and segregation laws are used as examples of wizarding America's backwardness in the Fantastic Beasts films, I turn to the book series. Find out why I think the Dementor's Kiss is probably meant to parallel capital punishment and why I think Sirius and Buckbeak are both used to illustrate the perils of State executions. Learn why I think the Harry Potter series leans anti-death penalty but is less firm in its stance than Lord of the Rings. Learn why the Dursleys are probably right-wing. And find out my take on how the climax of the series tries to split the difference of killing off Voldemort without endorsing capital punishment.