My Struggles With the Death Penaltyby
Bill Barnwell
Two days ago Scott Peterson was sentenced to death. I’m not terribly upset about that. I’m not terribly happy about it either. I feel extremely conflicted on the death penalty from a personal and Christian point of view. I could build a very strong case for and against it all on Scriptural, philosophical, and practical grounds. One thing though I do feel strongly about is that this matter of life and death is not something that should be taken lightly and it is something that should give us all heavy hearts. That’s what I think. However I’m not sure the many people who gathered outside the courthouse and cheered giddily when the death recommendation was announced would agree. Regardless of where anyone falls on this issue my hope is that people would at least stop cheering on this perpetuating culture of death that runs rampant in our society and instead begin valuing human life. Good Reasons for the Death Penalty From a Biblical perspective, capital punishment does not appear to be immoral. Examples of capital punishment appear all throughout Scripture, most prominently during the time when the ancient Israelites were governed strictly by the Mosaic Law. Under the Law, death was the proscribed punishment for everything from child sacrifice (Lev. 20:1), adultery (Lev. 20:10), blasphemy (Lev. 24:13–14), to even violating the Sabbath (Num. 15:32–36). In fact, In Leviticus 24, God Himself says, "If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death" (Lev. 24:17). That statement was made in the same section where God says "fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured" (Lev. 24:20). Of course, one may object and point out that Jesus raised the ethical bar on personal revenge in His Sermon on the Mount (see Matt. 5:38–47), but Jesus’ comments in those sections don’t specifically address capital punishment. If one studies the theological purpose behind the Law, and looks at the full story behind God’s treatment of His people, they will see that there were reasons for His strictness and rigidity. Some, however, have historically given a picture of the Scriptures where the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. The OT God is supposedly mean and nasty while the NT God is kind and gentle. That’s an extreme simplification and shows ignorance of the Scriptures. All throughout the OT God is affirmed as being a God of mercy (Dt. 4:31; Ne. 9:31, etc.), compassion (Ne. 9:19, 9:28, Ps. 51:1, 145:9; Isa. 49:13, etc.) and love (Ex. 15:13, 20:6, 2 Ch. 5:13, Ps. 31:16, etc.). Also, while some scratch their heads and wonder why God seems so angry throughout the Historical and Prophetic books of the OT they have to remember that God was constantly and continually putting up with the Israelites’ sin, giving them ample time to repent, and showing great patience through their ongoing ungratefulness and rebellion. When you look at it in those terms suddenly God is not just some cranky cosmic despot trying being mean to His creation. He was actually being quite fair. It’s also not true that in the NT, God never showed any kind of divine anger or that He was not harsh at times. An enraged Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple and drove out the wrongdoers with a whip (Jn. 2:12–25). God struck down Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit and the assembly of believers about the amount of money they kept for themselves after the sale of their property (Ac. 5:1–10). This sounds like pretty harsh business here, but can anyone objectively read the whole of the NT and say that Jesus was mean or cruel? Likewise, it makes no sense to read the OT in its full context and claim that God was only about harshness and punishment. The truth is that both testaments contain portions demonstrating God’s wrath and God’s mercy. God is both truth and love and both of those traits need to be held in balance. Most believers only want to emphasize one area or the other of God’s character, but both must be considered. In relation to the discussion at hand, the NT nowhere makes a pronouncement against the practice of capital punishment. In the gospel of John, Pilate specifically tells Christ that he had the power to have him executed by crucifixion. Christ does not say to Pilate, "Oh no you don’t!" He instead says, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above" (Jn. 19:11a). Therefore, taking all of this information into account, it does not appear that the NT makes any explicit or implicit statements that capital punishment is necessarily immoral or unjust. On a more practical level, it also just doesn’t seem fair for killers to sit around in prison at the taxpayer’s expense for crimes that they probably aren’t even very sorry or repentant for. Others argue that capital punishment is a deterrent to keep others from going out and committing heinous crimes (this is rather debatable) and that justice itself calls for equal retribution in such cases. Also, is there not a point where a crime or individual is so utterly despicable that he or she deserves death? Many reasonable people conclude that yes there is, and no, it’s not immoral or unfair to sentence them to death. I can’t say I have a huge problem with that. Good Reasons against the Death Penalty When I look at things from that way it seems pretty convincing that the death penalty is fair, just and reasonable. But other factors need to be considered also. First of all, from a Scriptural perspective, citing a bunch of passages from the Law to justify capital punishment does not prove an open and shut Biblical case because Christians are no longer governed by the Law (see all of Galatians, but really the whole NT spells this out). Other than a small group of Christians belonging to the "Reconstructionist" movement, no other Christian theologians believe that believers should seek to reinstitute the OT legal and judicial system. No, Christ did not come to "abolish the Law or the Prophets…but to fulfill them" (Matt. 5:17). The Law served its theological purpose with the ancient Israelites and has been fulfilled by the New Covenant. Included in that are teachings that modified outdated understandings of revenge. While Matt. 5:38–48 does not specifically address capital punishment, it certainly does not make a strong case for it either. Also when Jesus told Pilate that Pilate had authority from up above, He did not seem to be praising capital punishment. Plus, if there was ever an innocent man who did not deserve to die it was Christ Himself. He did not deserve death, but He accepted what was coming for the sake of God’s perfect plan of salvation for His people (Matt. 26:36–46). Basically the NT does not give any explicit teachings on capital punishment one way or another. It is safe to say that while the NT does not prohibit it, it does not necessarily praise it either. It also must be pointed out that all of the capital punishment accounts in Scripture were guided, directed, and ordered by God Himself. In the OT God dwelled immediately amongst His people. I highly doubt anybody was wrongly put to death for crimes they did not commit during that period. Thus is one of my greatest struggles with the death penalty. We all know that at during different times and places in American history that there have been people who have been wrongly put to death. Anyone who thinks the legal system is perfect is in another world. In fact, after every high profile case when jurors come to speak to the media I always have less and less faith in the judicial and jury system. Even if the number of wrongly executed people is very small, which I’m sure it historically has been, I’m not comfortable with an imperfect system and knowing that possibly innocent people are dying for crimes they did not commit. Pro-death penalty advocates also don’t take seriously the argument that the poor receive the death penalty in disproportionate numbers because they don’t have access to wealth, power, and good attorneys. In a trial, a good lawyer will make or break you. If you can’t afford a good lawyer your chances for success are very small, even if you are one of the wrongly accused. In this sense, the memory of O.J. Simpson is always used as an example. It seems hard to believe that Simpson would have been acquitted had it not been for his multimillion dollar "dream team" of lawyers. Most people in the same position would not have had such a privilege and would have likely lost the case. This is not an attack on wealth or wealthy people, just a realistic factor that must be considered whenever the legal system is looked at. Continued Confusion Then I face other difficult factors. It also can be argued that putting someone to death is not punishment enough. Wouldn’t it be more ideal for them to live with their crimes and deal with it on a day-to-day basis? But then I think to myself that most of these prisoners are probably just sitting in their cells only remorseful about the fact that they were caught. Then I consider the cost to the taxpayers. Shouldn’t we just execute these people instead of having the taxpayers fund their prison lifestyles? But then I look at figures which show that executing people is actually more costly. I then think about the repentance issue. I consider cases like the Son of Sam, a notorious serial killer from the 1970’s who later became a Christian in prison and I believe has genuinely repented and became a new person. Isn’t there some merit in sparing these people’s lives so that God can work on their consciences? But then I think about the fact that for every Son of Sam or Karla Fay Tucker on death row there’s probably ten more that have no remorse, no desire to change their wicked ways and will continue to inflict harm and vileness on people wherever they are at, including prison. But then I consider the whole retribution and "deterrence" issue. People say that if we used capital punishment in more cases crime would drop. Well, where capital punishment is on the books it doesn’t seem to be impeding sick people from being sick. Also, I suppose we could move to a legal system like Saudi Arabia where public beheadings are still the norm. Sure, we’d have a lot less crime, but we’d also live in an authoritarian state. Still then I think of how seemingly primitive are the desires for revenge amongst victims’ friends and families, and as seen in the Peterson case, the scores of street gatherers who cheered when death was announced. But then I think to myself that if it were my wife, daughter, mother, friend, etc. who was so brutally and unjustly killed that I’d probably be singing a different tune. I’d like to think that I could never wish any man death, regardless of what he did to me, but until I walk in the shoes of these victims, and I hope I never have to, I should just shut my mouth. Regardless of all this, as I said in my opening, death and capital punishment is nothing to be particularly happy about. I’m sure those gathering on the streets cheering after they heard the verdict, and holding up signs that read "Death!" for the TV cameras had a great time. But those jurors who decided upon death did not take the matter very lightly, even if you argue that they hated Peterson (which I’m sure they did, particularly the redhead juror). For them this was not a joyful experience. It’s not an easy task to have to decide the life or death fate of another human being, even if you believe they deserve it. Apparently some jurors came into the courtroom crying. They were not jovially celebrating on the street corner afterward. Those inside the courtroom reported that the atmosphere was somber and that a spirit of death hovered over it. Hardly sounds like a good time. Thus is the real problem. We do indeed have a "culture of death" in the world today. It’s a culture where twisted and selfish individuals believe they have the right to take the lives of others for their own pleasure or convenience. It’s a culture where parents abort their children because they were conceived during inconvenient times or circumstances. Ninety-seven percent of the time they are aborted for "personal" (read irresponsible) reasons. It’s a culture where unjust wars are waged and the public cheers. It’s a culture where people crowd up in masses and for the TV cameras to cheer on the state-sanctioned death of another human being. Even if you agree that capital punishment is just, and as has been demonstrated, a good case can be made to that effect, it should be viewed as a necessity that is tragic and unfortunate, not a cause for celebration. As all would agree, the whole situation is brought on by evil and tragedy. In the Peterson case, a lovely young woman and her unborn baby were wrongly murdered. Now the one who has been judged as responsible is going to die to.
December 15, 2004 Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor in Flushing, Michigan. He spent most of his undergraduate college career studying politics and government before feeling called to the ministry. He has completed a Master of Ministries degree and is currently working towards a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree at Bethel College in Mishawka, Indiana. Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com |
Is
this the best response? Arguably it is, but I’m not positive. This
pastor is confused and conflicted on the whole issue. I won’t be
shedding any tears for Scott and others like him. But I can’t say
I’m very thrilled about the whole thing either. The only hope for
Peterson, the victim’s grieving family, and all others in similar
circumstances is Christ. I hope they all find Him before its too
late.