Capital Punishment : The Death Penalty

The New Testament call us to protect life, practice mercy, and reject vengeance. For this reason, the death penalty is a form of hatred and bitterness because it denies mercy and forgiveness for the prisoners. As Sister Helen stated in the movie, how can you solve murder by murdering? The governments that enforce the death penalty, violate the international human rights laws in a way that is hypocritical. The law states that it is illegal to kill, meanwhile, they do the opposite of what they are enforcing in the country.

Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a controversial subject which has been argued for decades due to the ethical decisions involved. People believe the death penalty is the right thing to do and that it is the perfect example of ‘justice’ while others believe that it is immoral and overly expensive. The death penalty is not a logical sentence for criminals, it doesn’t give them the right type of justice and it is immoral.

I have struggled with whether I support the death penalty or not. For me taking in consideration that a person could be innocent and the fact it also conflicts with my religious beliefs in the principle of God providing life or death. I have come to the conclusion that no such judgment should be taken upon another human being.

“Everyone who commits a crime is not committing a compulsive act” (Wasserstrom 573) and therefore, we should not act impulsively towards them. The punishment should not be grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime charged, nor should it violate the convicted individual’s dignity.      Lastly, there is the aspect of my religion (Catholic) playing a factor in the capital punishment debate. Many people point to the passage in Leviticus, which states that an eye for an eye is God's decree (Costanzo 592).

The most influential text and source of many of the moral ideas of the world come from the Bible. The Bible outlines many of the crimes that are thought to be fundamentally wrong today. Also, the Bible provided ideologies and guidelines for the punishment of those who committed crimes, especially murder. The history of capital punishment can also be traced to this ancient text. Q5 The Bible says ?Man was made like God, so whoever murders a man will himself be killed by his fellow man.?(my bible) This explains a lot of the history of the death penalty. Q1 p9

Various religions also have varied responses to capital punishment. Even a particular denomination or religious group may not have a unified stand regarding capital punishment. Religious sentiments do play a significant part in the views of people regarding capital punishment. The Bible is replete with various passages that may seem to support or condemn capital punishment. The Old Testament, particularly, is based upon a morality of “teeth against teeth” and “life for life.” The books of laws of the Old Testament actually prescribe stoning to death the persons who commit serious crimes against God and against the community. A number of biblical scholars have considered the part of the Ten Commandments that say “You shall not kill” as a prohibition against individual cases of murder (The Ryrie Study Bible, Exodus 20:13). In the first place, the Christian faith believes that humans are created in the image of God. As such, a serious crime against another person is also a crime against God. In the Old Testament, premeditated murder was sufficient reason for the death penalty (Numbers 35:31, 33). Moreover, in Genesis 9:6, it can be read that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”. St. Thomas Aquinas also published his thoughts regarding capital

In today’s society, where human rights and human life are supposed to be valued, “responding to one killing with another killing” is not an effective way to deal with the situation (source F). The kind of mentality and consequences capital punishment promotes, provides only revenge, and not justice. This compensation is not beneficial to anyone, because it makes the victim as cruel as the criminal and originates from violence. The Christian Doctrine does not support the capital punishment, and “with other forms of punishment available, the USCCB argues, capital punishment is not an effective cure for society’s greatest ills and crimes” (source E). This type of punishment has no place in modern society, because we are not barbarians, and have less cruel ways of dealing with criminals.

     Throughout history the human race has fought over what was fair and just punishment for the killing of another human. The bible tells us, “Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death” (Numbers 35:31). Methods of execution have included such practices as crucifixion, stoning, drowning, burning at the stake, impaling and beheading (Mircrosoft Encarta, 2002). Most of all these events were made public so as to show a deterrent to others, “warning so to speak that this awaits you when you murder”. Public executions were a common place event in society until the 1830’s due to the deterrent effect of them. In the 1900’s through this deterrent event wasn’t public anymore for the reason society wanted to hide its manners from the public eye to save ourselves from the horror of the event itself (Microsoft Encarta, 2002). Executions have been said to have a deterrent effect on the crime of murder, although there is little to no evidence to prove this. The decision to kill antoher human is dependent on numerous different events that are in turn influenced by religion and beliefs. Example of a more commonly used verse is in the bible itself, “ And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye,

Religion plays a big role in some people 's lives and can influence their opinion on capital punishment. In the U.S. the two largest religions are Christianity and Judaism, within both of those religions some people are for capital punishment and some are against capital punishment. Several christian groups in the late 1970s formalized their religious and moral reasons against the imposition of the death penalty. “Among them was, capital punishment: violated the command by Jesus to employ the ethic of love, perpetuated the evil of retaliation, ignored the guilt that the society may have had in the causation of the crime, and prevented the possibility of any kind of rehabilitation of the criminal” (Flamehorse).

The curiosity of whether capital punishment is Biblical depends on the interpretation of such scriptures. It is an area of religious concern that is not addressed directly.

For individuals that are not Babylonian in belief, there is also much discussion of the lex talionis in the pages of Christianity under Exodus: “you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand” (Wolf). According to the Bible, the following crimes are cause for death: contempt, trespassing on holy ground, sorcery, prostitution, idolatry, and adultery. Executions were held in the colonial age as a way to “reflect God’s law” and keep the order. The Book of Exodus also sentences murderers to the death penalty: “whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death” (Wolf). The death penalty was incredibly successful in the past, and as human nature has stayed the same, so should its traditions.

Although our nation has gotten away from it in recent years, we were founded by those who had strong religious beliefs. On this note there are several passages in the bible that speak of letting the punishment fit the crime, hence making the victim whole again. Take, for example, Leviticus 24:19-23. This passage implicitly reads as follows: “19Anyone who maims another shall suffer the same injury in return: 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered. 21One who kills an animal shall make restitution for it; but one who kills a human being shall be put to death.” The principle here is making the victim whole. We must remember that when the circumstances warrant capital punishment the details of the crime are usually tremendously heinous. That being said sometimes capital punishment is the only fair and equitable punishment.

Capital Punishment or commonly called as Death Penalty is used in several countries today and in comes from ancient times which was used to penalize many grave offenses. On religious sentiments one considers then Bible advocates for death punishment to those who do unjust with other individuals. However death penalty has caught eye of many human activists and government organizations and has called for a long time debate whether death penalty is ethical or not and has made it one of the most debated issues. More than sixty percent countries in the world have provision of death punishment. However, question of killing someone probably innocent still arises also life and death are in hands of god

has the power to give and take away life as he chooses.  All men are to preserve

The death penalty, or capital punishment, is the execution of an offender that is sentenced to death by a court of law for a criminal offense.  This type of punishment for inmates is involved in controversy over whether or not it is an acceptable form of punishment for criminals and also whether or not it is immoral.  There are many arguments for both sides of the debate, each making valid points and pointing out the flaws of the opposing position. Many religions are either for or against capital punishment, due to them either being against killing or for it.  The controversy surrounding the death penalty laws in the United States is made up of various arguments.  Other arguments surrounding the use of the death penalty include whether