An Exploratory Study of the Decision to Refrain from Killing in the Accounts of Military and Police Personnel

Although previous studies have examined killing as an outcome-oriented measure, few have explored non-killing as a socially organized process. Using letters written by soldiers, police officers, and security professionals found in the magazine Soldier of Fortune, this study examines cases in which they refrain from killing their opponents. Our results indicate that refrained killings by these actors are socially organized in ways that are shaped by situational, environmental, technological, administrative, and moral factors. In addition, it was found that when police officers and soldiers realized the humanity of their opponents, they employed alternative methods to subdue or control without using lethal force, despite situational and legal justifications for doing so. Implications for the sociology, psychology, and ethics of killing – or not killing – are discussed.