Final answer:
Nancy is functioning at the level of postconventional morality according to Kohlberg's theory of moral development, as she protests based on abstract principles about the value of human life and the morality of laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nancy is protesting against the recent enactment of the death penalty in her home state because she feels it is immoral for the government to decide who should live and who should die. Her reasoning reflects a stage of moral development known as postconventional morality. Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development describes how individuals progress from a focus on direct consequences (preconventional morality), to a focus on societal rules (conventional morality), to a higher stage where they apply their own principles and the concept of universal ethical principles (postconventional morality).
At the postconventional level, individuals recognize that legality and morality are not always in alignment and can judge the morality of laws and actions based on abstract principles. They may decide that certain laws are unjust if they conflict with fundamental principles, like the right to life. Since Nancy is protesting based on her belief in the sanctity of human life, an abstract principle, she is functioning at Kohlberg's level of postconventional morality.