Vox populi | capital punishment

Live or die?

W

hen I was in bible college 20 years ago one of the hot buttons for Christians was whether or not we should support capital punishment. Sanctity of life, eye for an eye, rights of the government to take a life and all. This morning I listened to an interview with a man who was first on the scene of a grisly murder and beheading that took place this summer on a Greyhound bus just outside the city where I live, Winnipeg, Canada. In the interview, the man said he felt the offender should be executed by the government and the hundreds of thousands of dollars we’d spend on imprisoning him could be spent on helping in our society.

Secret? I think I may agree. But what if the man was mentally unstable? Of course he was. Mentally stable people don’t kill, unless they’re military or mafia. Didn’t this guy know it is a bad thing to cut someone’s head off? At that point doesn’t he give up his right to live on the earth? But what about the opportunity for salvation and rehabilitation? What about the victim? One month following this heinous crime my son would return to Winnipeg on a Greyhound bus traveling that same route. What about his safety and the safety of the other sons and daughters on the bus? Is the debate still out there or am I just a father responding to the death of a son on the Greyhound?

Vox populi appears every Friday on theRubicon. Find past Vox populi posts and a bio of Capt. Rick Zelinsky here.

7 Comments to Vox populi | capital punishment

1. I once heard someone argue that the most pro-life stance someone could take would be in favor of the death penalty. Their argument was that it places the highest possible value on the life of the innocent person murdered. There are obvious flaws in our justice system related to capital punishment (and its lopsided effect on certain races), but for me the jury is still out on whether its the right thing to do to abolish it altogether.

   The opportunity to extend Jesus’ forgiveness still exists for those on death row.

   On the flip side, according to today’s legal system, Paul may have been held liable for murder if he was consenting to it. Think of what we’d have missed if he’d had to pay for his crimes.
Prometheus on September 12th, 2008

2. Jesus’ command to do to others as you would have them do to you has to play a part here somewhere.

   However, this rule also has repercussions for the entire criminal justice system. Do Christians have any place incarcerating criminals, let alone killing them?
Cameron Horsburgh on September 13th, 2008

3. I’m going to throw in John 8.1-11: The story of a woman who by right, could have been executed for committing adultery. No one would have known the Jewish Law more than Jesus. But what does he say? “Let anyone who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

   Now let me make a small case. People who commit such atrocities like the story Capt. Rick mentioned must not simply get away with it; there MUST be some kind of justice and consequence for their actions, remove them from society for the rest of their lives if must, but execution is NOT the way.

   There is something quite wrong when we are using violence against violence. When we do that we are indeed colluding with the powers of evil and not defeating them. The way of the Cross is not the way of violence.

   Now I may be accused of not being able to understand the grief a bereaved parent or loved one of a victim of murder may. That is true. On the other hand I have also read about and seen many loved ones who themselves are against the capital punishment of the murderer. They realized that revenge is not the way forward. It is a hollow resolution.

   Now let me briefly open this out wider. Being pro-life is about what is called a ’seamless ethics of life’. It is against abortion, it is against war, it is against capital punishment, it is against poverty, disease, abuse and everything/everyone that would want to crush and afflict those made in the image of God. It is FOR beauty, grace, justice, hope, freedom and love; everything that will bring out and enable us to live as God’s image bearers.

   For far too long have we refused to look on our enemies as those who bear God’s image. We see them as the ‘bad guys’ whilst we ‘good’. The line between good and evil is drawn down the middle of each of us. Jesus knew that, so did the accusers of the woman. I want to follow in the footsteps of the one who suffered grave injustice and execution in order to bring about new creation in my life, the life of my friends and family and yes, even my enemies.
Craig Gaudion on September 13th, 2008

4. Rick

   Thanks for this posting–I for one am still interested in this subject. Our Corps Bible Study which I facilitate will in its Spring Session (March 2009-May2009) deal with Ethical Issues–one of which is Capital Punishment.

   I would like to quote one of may favorite theologian-philosophers I Francis Schaeffer) on this subject:
   “It is important to note that fallen man still retasind domething of the image of God. The Fall seperates man from God, but it does not remove his original differentiation from other things. Fallen man is not less than man. Thus we read in Genesis 9:6 ‘Whoseoever sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.’ Man is such a special creation that to take his life in a wanton, murderous way deserves a particular punishment. I feel that often the hue and cry against capital punishment today does not so much rest upon humanitarian interest or even an interest in justice, but rather in a failure to understand that man is unique. The simple fact is that Genesis 9:6 is a sociological statement. The reason that the punishment for murder can be so severe is that man, being created in the image of God, has a particular value–not just a theoretical value at some time before the Fall, but such a value yet today.”

   and

   “God commands capital punishment simply because if the unique vakue of that which the murderer has killed. When a man is killed, an image-bearer of God is killed. Man continues after the Fall to be in the image of God, and that makes muder heinous indeed. Modern Man who relates himself to the machine and to the animal does not really understand the tremendous stature of man, and therefore he sees no reason why muder is inherently different frrom any other crime. Capital punishment was, however, not to be administered carelessly”

   Interesting comments a great theologian.

   Having woked in Corrections prior to retirement I can tell you that I have known or met 350 plus people who have been charged with murder, most of whom have been convicted. Out of that group I can only think of maybe 5 to 10 who would meet what I think are the criteria for capital punishment.

   Rick, the case of which you speak {Greyhound Murder} would seem to me to be one where the accused suffers a mental illness. I do no think capital punishment should apply in his case but surely he would need to be seperated from society for the crime.

   There is much more that could be said but I will stop here and read any reaction to my comments and respond then.

   John Stephenson
John Stephenson on September 13th, 2008

5. I don’t have much to add to the conversation except that I agree completely with Craig Gaudion’s comment. He articulated perfectly what I was feeling but couldn’t say without sounding angry and sarcastic.
   Dion
Dion Oxford on September 14th, 2008

6. I’m still somewhat ambivalent on the Death Penalty issue. While it’s clear that some crimes are so horrible as to be deserving of death from a purely mortal and legal standpoint, I don’t trust our extremely non-Christian government (I’m in the US, but really, anywhere) with the power of life and death.

   However, I have to address the idea of using violence against violence. Catching and arresting criminals involves violence. Imprisoning them involves violence. Defending yourself, even if only by shoving a would-be murderer to the ground so you can run away, involves violence.

   The only truly non-violent answer would be to stand by, do nothing, and let the murderers among us cut a bloody path through society.

   And even then, we become accomplices to their violence through our inaction.

   The question is not whether we are to meet violence with violence. The ugly truth is, we can’t keep our hands clean of violence, so long as there are violent men among us.

   The question is, where do we draw the line?
Timothy on June 22nd, 2009

7. “The only truly non-violent answer would be to stand by, do nothing, and let the murderers among us cut a bloody path through society.”

   I think you will find that there are other alternatives to this. Jesus illustrates some in the Sermon on the Mount. For more info feel free to check out:

   http://www.consistent-life.org/

   This website relates specifically to the seamless garment Craig referred to.

   Grace,

   Aaron
aaron on June 22nd, 2009

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