Capital Punishment
20 Dec 2007
This past Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Although the resolution is non-binding, it is hoped that its symbolism will persuade all nations to abandon the death penalty in order to curry favor with the pompous diplomats of UN member states. Like all of its other unbinding resolutions, the only bite to the UN’s bark is to the butt of those bothered by world opinion. In other words, no state pays any attention to the UN except those concerned with winning brownie points in Botswana and being viewed favorably in Fiji.
According to the Bible, whoever sheds man’s blood should have his blood shed by man, because men are made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6). Only human beings are created in God’s image and recipients of God’s breath (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4). Therefore, human life is sacred and human beings deserving of a dignity not afforded to animals (sorry Peta). It is upon this tripod tenant of being created by God, bearing the image of God, and belonging to God that the Christian belief in the sanctity of human life stands.
Ironically, the Bible’s justification for the death penalty; namely, the sanctity of human life, is the reason given for its condemnation by today’s death penalty opponents. I find it odd, however, that the majority of those disquieted over capital punishment have no qualms with abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Apparently, they have no problem aborting unborn children and bumping off the old and infirmed; it’s just the execution of death roll inmates that they strenuously oppose.
In a recent CNN/You Tube debate, Mike Huckabee, a Republican candidate for president and an ordained Southern Baptist minister, sidestepped a question on “what Jesus would do” about capital punishment. While his answer—“Jesus was too smart to run for public office. That’s what Jesus would do.”—won him the biggest laugh of the night, I found it no laughing matter. To me, this minister of the Gospel’s failure to answer this important question with what the Scripture clearly says was inexcusable. Instead of opting for a laugh, Huckabee could have explained how God’s Word instructs us to execute murderers so as to assure society that those with a proven disregard for the sanctity of human life will never again have an opportunity to slay another human being.
Many modern-day death penalty opponents champion the outlawing of capital punishment because of their fear that some innocent person may be put to death. Interestingly, these challengers of capital punishment appear utterly unconcerned about all of the innocent people annually murdered by repeat offenders.
Did you know that the average sentence for a convicted murderer in American is about six years? In California, it’s less than four years. If you add to this the shocking fact that three out of every four violent crimes—murder, armed robbery, rape, and assault—are committed by repeat offenders, you may decide that the time has come for us to dry our eyes over convicted death roll inmates and to start shedding some tears over the numerous graves of their multiple victims.
Now, I know that the execution of murderers will not bring back their victims, but this hollow argument for the abolition of capital punishment misses the point. The point is that murderers never be afforded another opportunity to repeat their dastardly deed. While I firmly believe that capital punishment is a proven deterrent to capital offenses, we all know that it can never bring back the victims of murderers. Still, it can assure society that murderers never murder again and that no other innocent victim ever falls prey to a repeat offender’s bloodstained hands.
Don Walton
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