STORY: In 1983, Karla Faye Tucker and Daniel Garrett took drugs for 3 days without stop. They broke into a home in Texas and used a hammer and a pickax to kill a man and a woman. They were caught and sentenced to death. While in prison, Garrett died of liver disease and Tucker heard the gospel and became a born again Christian and a model prisoner. After exhausting all appeals, she was finally executed on Feb 2, 1998 by lethal injection. Her execution reignited the debate on capital punishment, particularly among Christians.
The famous evangelist Billy Graham was interviewed on TV the day after the execution. He said that he believed that Tucker is a sister in Christ and that she is now in heaven. But he also said that the death penalty was proper and just. Now, what do you think?
Background:
Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976 (in fact no executions since 1962). In the US, capital punishment is still practised in 38 states.
Capital punishment has been abolished de jure or de facto (in law and in effect) by 111 nations and is still imposed in 83 others. The countries with the highest number of executions are: China, Iran, Russia, United States.
Polls consistently show that 65-75% of Canadians and Americans support capital punishment.
o to bear and pay for the harm done to the victim and the society
o to impose sanctions justly deserved
o to impose punishment proportional to the crime committed
o to denounce the criminal and impress on them that crimes are unacceptable in the society
o to protect the society by separating the criminals from the general population
o to reduce the risk of criminal victimization
o to incarcerate the criminals so that they have no more capacity to commit more crimes
o to deter potential criminals to commit crimes when they observe the effect of the sanction
o to provide an environment for the criminals to adopt new habits away from crime so that they can live a new life and turn in a new direction
o to receive new skills for future employment after release
· Notice that the 6th commandment does not refer generally to all killings. The Hebrew word was correctly translated as “murder” in modern English translations. Premeditated murder is not the same as killings in accidents or in the case of self-defence or killing combatants during a war.
· Ancient Israel was a theocratic state (under the direct government of God) and the governments today are not. Therefore the laws given to Moses for the nation of Israel apply only to that nation. They are not even applied to the civil government of Israel today.
· However, death penalty for murder is still applicable because the command was given to Noah who at that time represented the whole human race and was before the laws of Moses.
(4= stronger argument)
|
ARGUMENTS AGAINST |
ARGUMENTS
FOR |
|
a. Old Testament laws do not apply to the present
(Heb 10:1). |
Old Testament supports death penalty |
|
b. The Bible teaches mercy: Jesus forgave the adulterous woman
(Jn 7:53-8:11). |
New Testament supports death penalty “Without sin” (Jn 8:7) does not mean complete
sinlessness BUT sinless according to Dt 22:22-24 which stipulates that
both the man and the woman are subject to death penalty. Yet the crowd did
not bring the man. |
|
c. Violation of
the 6th commandment |
Ro 13:4 Paul affirms the authority of the
government to impose death penalty. The word “sword” in Greek refers to the
sword worn by superior magistrates who had the authority to inflict death
penalty. The 6th commandment (given to individuals) is not violated because
execution is done by the state. 4 |
|
d. Revenge is
not Biblical |
Death
penalty is retribution, not revenge; it is the satisfaction of justice or the
restoration of disturbed moral balance. Even God’s plan of salvation is based
on divine standards of retributive justice. To God, sin and crime are
inherently worthy of punishment. Because God does not disregard the standard
of justice, He sent His Son to substitute for us. 4 |
|
e. Past evidences show there is very little deterrence.
Statistical studies conclude that one execution will deter 1 to 8 murders. 4 |
Deterrence to other
murders |
|
f. Death penalty
is often discriminatory |
This minor unfairness does not justify abolishing
the proper system of justice and the courts are trying to guard against
discrimination. |
|
g. Risk of
executing innocent person |
Death
penalty should only be permitted if there is practically without doubt. In
the US study, only 313 were executed. The “errors” were mostly procedural or
administrative problems, not that the accused were innocent. Only in 5 cases
were the offenders found to be innocent of the capital offence (insufficient
evidence). There is no proof that any innocent person was executed. |
|
h. Rehabilitation
of murderers |
Justice
should not be withheld by a remote possibility. 4 |
· VERDICT: Capital punishment is supported by a correct interpretation of the Bible while rational arguments are inconclusive.
· Note that only the first four arguments above are based on the interpretation of the Bible. The other four arguments are rational arguments based on human reasoning.
· The best rational argument against it is the possibility of executing innocent people. This can be remedied if execution is done only for cases with certainty (that is, more than circumstantial evidence). Such examples include: (a) mass murderer Olson who in 1982 led the police to burial sites of 10 of his victims, thereby obtaining $10,000 for each body/skeleton found; and (b) the 2 Washington snipers who randomly shot 13 people, killing 10, in 2002 (Muhammad who got death penalty and Malvo who got life imprisonment).
· If capital punishment is abolished, all mass murderers will be protected from their deserved punishment and injustice will permeate. The law allowing capital punishment should not be abolished so that it can still be applied for extreme cases.