Abstract
Capital punishment is supported by roughly 70 percent of Americans. There is a blind allegiance from the average American citizen in support of the death penalty. The question is why. What exactly does capital punishment do for America? Why do Americans support capital punishment? What are the grounds of justifications for employing capital punishment? The intent of the following paper is to enlighten the reader of God’s opinion on capital punishment. Financial aspects will be examined, as well as the deterrence factor of the death penalty. Of these three aspects there is no argument to support the death penalty.
American Capital Punishment
This paper on the death penalty will cover God’s opposition to the matter, the financially crippling effect on the American economy and the fact that the death penalty does not deter crime. The paper is a true statement of facts that can be clearly seen through various forms of research. The death penalty is a controversial issue in America, however most citizens support it unwavering. When asked why, most will say that they believe it deters crime. Many people will say that God supports the death penalty because He made it. They will also say that it saves the taxpayers money. It would make sense to utilize capital punishment if these were all truths, but they are not. After reviewing this paper and the research in it, the reader will know these facts:
1. God is not in favor of the death penalty.
2. Capital punishment is financially devastating to the American economy.
3. The death penalty does not deter crime.
The following points will be addressed in the text.
Cain Banished
It is without debate that there are specific verses in the scriptures that imply the death penalty is a form of punishment for murder. It is also beyond dispute that God chose to punish murderers with other methods. Let’s look at the First Murder. Cain and Able in Genesis 4(English Standard Version, Gen. 4.1-15). Adam’s two sons Cain and Able both loved God and made a sacrifice to Him. When God enjoyed Able’s sacrifice more than Cain’s, Cain was angry. Moses wrote, “Cain was very angry, and his face fell….Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (Gen.4.5-8). This is, without a single doubt, murder. Cain was angry and lured his brother into a field. Now this is a part of Scripture one will not see death penalty advocates speak of. God’s reaction was not eye for an eye instead God banished Cain. Genesis reads, “And the Lord said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Gen.4.10-12). This is a very severe punishment for that time. Hanks (2000) says, “to be severed from the community was second only to death” (p.26). Cain would be susceptible to attacks from anyone who came wandering along the way (Hanks, 2000). Cain knew this and declared that the punishment of banishment was too hard to bear and that he would be killed (Hugo, 1998). However, God would not allow anyone to harm Cain. God put a mark on Cain that signified protection (Hugo, 1998). If anyone would kill Cain, they would receive a more severe punishment than Cain’s. Genesis reads, “If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (Gen.4.15). In the end, God saved Cain and he bore a son, Enoch. God’s answer to Cain’s murder was not eye for an eye, but a new creation, a son.
Noah and Genesis 9:6
Violence did not come to a halt with God’s punishment method. Instead, it escalated. Lamesh, one of Cain’s descendents killed a man. Genesis reads, “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold” (Gen.4.23-24). Hugo (1998) says that, “this is the normal pattern; fallen humanity responds to evil with escalating vengeance” (p431). The world was extremely evil at the time of Cain and Lamesh. God saw that only Noah followed Him on the whole earth. So, God destroyed the earth and its inhabitants. After the flood God spoke to Noah about sacrifice for sins. Genesis reads,” Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Gen.9.6). Now this is the verse most death penalty advocates use when attempting to justify the death penalty. In almost all circumstances, the last part about man being made in God’s image is left out of an advocates quote. The killing of a man is the killing of God’s image, so even if the man is a murderer, capital punishment is still killing someone who is made in God’s image (Hanks, 2000). The verse is also more of a description of what man did at the time and not so much condoning this behavior. When a murder occurred in the Old Testament (OT), the killer was usually killed by a member of the deceased’s family or sect. That is what man did in those days. Genesis 9:6 is not permission to kill; it is descriptive of what men did in the OT (Hanks, 2000). This verse also has another meaning. As I said before, God was speaking on sacrifice to Noah. Genesis 9:5 reads, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man” (Gen.9.5). Combining Genesis 9:5 and 9:6 clearly indicates that God was speaking on sin and how it should be paid for. The dictionary meaning for reckoning in this context is a settlement of accounts (Dictionary, 2008). If a man murdered a man, he most definitely for certain did not receive an automatic sentence to hell. In the OT blood sacrifice was required for certain sins. Murder was one of those sins (Hanks, 2000). After reading the whole chapter it is very clear that God was not condoning the death penalty. He was either speaking on what human nature was, or speaking on sin and payment (Hugo, 1998). Also, remember that a scripture cannot mean what it never meant (Caner & Hindson, 2008). That is how cults are started and how heresy is spread. In most cases people only read Genesis 9:6a. This verse is taken out of context more often than not and no longer applies to us after the death of Jesus, which we will discuss later.
The One who wrote the Law
The sixth commandment reads very easily. Exodus 20:13 reads, “you shall not murder” (Ex.20.13). Many people take for granted the writer of this book was a murderer. Moses is the known writer of the Torah which includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers (Harris, 2008). Moses was raised in a rich household with anything he could imagine. It is unclear how he came to this revelation, but one day he realized he was not an Egyptian, but a Hebrew. Moses wrote in Exodus 2, “One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Ex.2.11-12). This is another part of text one will never hear a death penalty advocate speak of. Moses, the one who wrote the very scriptures death penalty advocates quote, was a murderer. The Bible says that Moses looked around, saw no one would see him, killed a roman soldier and then hid him (Ex.2.11-12). This is without question premeditated murder. The next day he saw two of his own people fighting (Ex.2.13-14). Moses tried to talk some sense into them, but they had seen Moses’ crime. Soon after, Pharaoh found out what Moses did as well. According to the law, Moses was deserving death. God sparred Moses, and sent him away to exile (Hanks, 2000). Exodus reads, “When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well” (Ex.2.15). Moses was allowed to live, take a wife, have children and one day return to free his people from their hardships. Moses became one of the greatest lawgivers known to the world (Hanks, 2000).
David’s Punishment
King David was a great king. Samuel said of David, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people” (1 Sam.13.14). John wrote of Jesus in Revelation 22:16, “I am the root and the descendant of David” (Rev.22.16). David was a great man and a great king. Davis was in the blood line of Jesus. David was also an adulterer and a murderer (2 Sam.11.1-27). David stayed back one day when kings usually went out to fight in war. He saw a lovely young woman named Bathsheba bathing in the distance. Hanks (2000) said, “David yielded to lust… he seduced her” (p.35). This great king David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then she became pregnant. After Bathsheba became pregnant, David thought of ways to get out of the situation. He called Bathsheba’s husband Uriah home to sleep with her so that Uriah would think it was his baby and not suspect anything. Uriah was faithful to his men; he was a man of war. Uriah loved the Lord and David the king. He was such a devout soldier that he would not sleep with his wife while his men were fighting. Uriah said to David, “Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing” (2 Sam.11.11). David then tried to get Uriah drunk so that Uriah would go sleep with his wife, but Uriah refused to sleep with her (2 Sam.11.13). David came up with a master plan. He sent Uriah back to war with a note. David sent Uriah into battle in the heat of the war, and when Uriah got there, his men were instructed to pull back so Uriah would be killed (2 Sam.11.19-21). Davids plan worked and Uriah fell to an archer. Then David took Bathsheba home with her. 2 Samuel reads, “David sent and brought her (Bathsheba)1 to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Sam.11.27). 2 Samuel 12:1-14 tells us David’s punishment. God sent a prophet named Nathan who would tell King David the consequences for his sins. David admitted to Nathan that he had sinned against God (2 Sam.12.13). However, God put away David’s sin and did not require capital punishment. Instead, God required that the son that was born from the adulterous relationship be put to death (2 Sam.12.13). God also told David that he would never have peace and always be at war (2 Sam.12.10). God does not require an eye for an eye. God uses other forms of punishment for murder, not just capital punishment.
Mosaic Law
Now we will turn to the Mosaic Law. Why was the law written in the first place? The law in the OT has been recognized by scholars to limit the amount of violence rather than endorse it (Hanks, 2000). It should also be noted that at the time the law was wrote, blood feuds were a big deal. Before the law, if a clan or sect killed someone from another clan, there was without hesitation a quick and violent response. Because some clans were much bigger than others, this would put a smaller clan at a disadvantage. The bigger clans and sects would wipe out whole colonies of people who had worse weapons or less people than their clan. This bloodshed was all because of the death of one of their clan members (Hanks, 2000). The need for revenge drove sects mad and mass murder was rampant (Hugo, 1998). God stepped in and gave Moses the law. With the law, the bloodshed of whole clans would be stopped and only one man would have to die. As previously mentioned, the blood that was shed from a murderer was a sacrificial offering. Man was seeking revenge, but God was offering forgiveness. God required the blood, not man. Moses wrote that God said, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man” (Gen.9.5). To atone for sins, blood had to be shed. That was the way things were before Jesus came.
Requirements for Capital Punishment
In the OT, the requirements of capital punishment were much more stringent that those of today. A huge factor that is overlooked today is that there was a rigorous witness requirement. There had to be at least two or more witnesses to the murder in order to put the murderer to death. Moses wrote, “no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness” (Duet.17.6). Again Moses wrote, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Duet.19.5). Keep in mind that when the Torah refers to witnesses it means eye witnesses (Hanks, 2000). With that in mind, think of how hard it would be to find two or three witnesses to a murder. When someone commits a murder, they do not usually do it in public. It is a hidden activity, not usually seen. There is little evidence to say that capital punishment was implemented very often in the OT (Hugo, 1998). A good reason why would be the requirements were much stricter. Another little known fact is that the executioner would be the eye witness. Moses wrote, “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death” (Duet.17.7). The eyewitness would be the executioner after the trial. This would persuade a witness to tell the truth. Also, if the witness lied, they would be the one who is put to death. Moses wrote, “If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother” (Duet.19.16-18). This would influence anyone not to lie in court. Also, the convict was allowed to stop the convoy that was taking them off to die four times and plead their case, thus making the death penalty rarely enforced (Hanks, 2000). If the killing was ruled accidental, there were a number of cities that the killer was allowed to flee to in order to remain safe. This would be the punishment for manslaughter, but also this alternative would provide safety so that no one would take matters into their own hands.
Jesus on the Death Penalty
It should be very clear by now that the argument to support Capital punishment from the OT is a losing battle. Unless one takes only certain parts of scripture greatly out of context, there is absolutely no argument that is valid in support of capital punishment. With the arrival of Jesus, the argument for the death penalty is lost all together (Hanks, 2000). As previously mentioned, the blood was required for a sacrifice in the OT. Jesus came, lived a perfect life and died a perfect sacrifice so we do not have to pay for our own sin anymore with a blood sacrifice. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil” (Matt.5.38-39). Clearly Jesus did not support the. Not to mention the fact that Jesus was tried illegally and sentenced illegally (Greenleaf, 1995). Jesus said that sin was sin. There is no difference to God, whether it is stealing bubble gum or killing someone. We have put classes on sin, not God. If a murderer is guilty of death, then so is a common thief in the eyes of God.
He who is Without Sin…
The greatest argument anyone can have against the death penalty is that Jesus stopped one that was about to take place (John.8.3-11). There was a woman who was caught in adultery (John.8.3). The religious leaders of that day brought the woman to Jesus (John.8.3). They wanted to Stone her for her crime and according to the law, they were entitled to (John.8.4-5). They did not want justice, instead they were looking to test Jesus and trap Him in His words (Hanks, 2000). Jesus said to them, “he who is without sin cast the first stone” (John.8.7). One by one they all left until it was just the woman and Jesus. John 8 reads, “Jesus said, woman, has no one stayed to convict? she said, no my lord. Jesus said, neither do I then. Go and sin no more” (John.8.10-11). Let’s look at a couple things here. First, Jesus had not yet died. There was still yet to be a final atonement for sins. Even with that being said, Jesus did not banish the woman and He did not require a sacrifice for her sin. Jesus simply sent her away and told her to stop sinning. Second, He said to the crown “he who is without sin cast the first stone” (John.8.7). Well friends, no one is without sin. Having this in mind, who can execute someone? God can. We humans do not have the right or authority to execute anyone. It is not up to us. Only God can judge. Capital punishment goes against Jesus’ character and there is no argument that proves otherwise.
The Final Sacrifice
It is without dispute that the man Jesus died on a cross (Caner & Hindson, 2008). There are several accounts in the NT and also from pagan and Jewish writers (Greenleaf, 1995). If someone is a Christian and believes that Jesus is God, then they would know that this sacrifice means we are forgiven for sins once and for all. This would mean that a blood sacrifice on our part is no longer necessary. Now that we know that the purpose of putting a man to death is to atone for their sins, my question is why would we still require life for life? Jesus was put to death, despite how much we have gained from it, extremely illegally (Greenleaf, 1995). I will mention only a few of the problems with the trial. First, the original proceeding was held in the middle of the night. Second, there was no official high enough to hold the trial (Greenleaf, 1995). Third, many false witnesses were brought up to testify, but none of them were considered credible (Mark, 2008). According to their own law they should have put all of those false witnesses to death. Fourth, after they examined Jesus, they found no fault. Luke wrote, “Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, I find no guilt in this man” (Luke.23.4). Then Jesus was brought to Herod. Again Luke writes, “Pilate… said to them, brought me this man…. And after examining him before , behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod…. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him” (Luke.23.14-17). There is a laundry list of illegal practices in the trial of Jesus Christ. The bottom line is, it was an extremely illegal trial.
Other Illegal Executions in the New Testament
No one was more dangerous in the New Testament (NT) to the Jews than a follower of Christ. It seems that the rule book was thrown out more times than not when a Christian was on trial. Three examples of capital punishment in the NT will now be examined. The first death penalty sentence is the death of James the brother of Jesus (Acts, 2008). The NT is vague on the details, but what we do know is that Herod was looking for approval. He was a politician, and so needed the support of the Jews (Hanks, 2008). Jewish people hated Christianity, and anyone who was a Christian they would gladly kill in the name of god. Herod, knowing this, killed the brother of Jesus with a sword (Acts, 2008). There is no record of a trial in the scriptures, but one can assume it was not a legal trial if such a proceeding even occurred. It is not too far fetched to say that we cannot apply this story to the politicians today. There are many political figures who wish to look tough on crime to appease the people and get more votes (Hanks, 2008). The next execution to discuss is John the Baptist. John was a great man. He proclaimed Christ without fear. Because he spoke the truth, it got him in trouble with Herod. John told Herod that it was not right for Herod to have his brother’s wife. Herod became angry and put him in prison. Does this sound legal? Herod was afraid to put John to death because the people took John as a prophet, then one day, his daughter in law trapped him into an oath that forced Herod to execute John. Herod cut off John’s head in prison, with no trial. The last execution is the first martyr for the gospel of Jesus, Stephen. Stephan was a devout follower of Christ. Because of this, the Jewish people were very offended at him. They rushed him into a hall and conducted an illegal trial. They rose up accusations against Stephan. They were determined to kill him. When Stephan told them the truth about their behavior, they raised their voices, refused to hear any more and stoned him to death. When taking the whole Bible in context, it is without dispute that the God does not condone Capital punishment. The only ones who die in the NT are the followers of Christ. Capital punishment in the NT is mostly political. Herod did not want to look bad in front of his guests. Pilate wanted to appease the crowd. Unless taken out of context, we do not have any scripture, especially in the NT to justify capital punishment.
The Cost of Death
This is a popular saying, “Killing convicts saves America money.” Sounds good at first, however, this is a false statement (Costanzo, 1997). Americans Executions in the past were very quick. If one was found guilty, they were hung within a matter of an hour (Costanzo, 1997). In America, this is not the case. There are several very good reasons why America does not just kill someone who is pronounced guilty on the spot. First, many times the sentence is overturned when new evidence is brought up. Second, Every American has the right to due process. With this in mind, it is important to know that an inmate can live up to twenty years on death row (Allen, Latessa, Ponder, & Simonsen, 2006). During those years an inmate of death row will go through many appeals. Between the district court, circuit court, appellate court and Supreme Court, there are many appeals. Death row in itself is a high priced facility. The compound is a highly secured area which takes allot of man power to operate, thus adding to the cost (Costanzo, 1997). The cost of the execution center itself should also be noted. There are currently 3,200 people on death row (Costanzo, 1997). The median dollar amount that could be saved per person if a life sentence without parole was given instead of pursuing the death penalty is around $500,000 per inmate (Radelet & Akers, 1996). Totally abolishing capital punishment would save just under two billion dollars instantly on the low end. Research from Constanza (1997) has this number doubled (p.60-61).
Why Does Death Cost so Much?
There are too many aspects to cover when it comes to the enormous cost of the death penalty. A detailed list of many of the reasons why the trials cost so much and take so long would take up to much room and would probably triple this paper’s length. Haines (1999) says some of the reasons are, “More intensive investigations, proceedings, pretrial motions filed and heard, hearings, trials, jury selection, witnesses, consultants, motions, appeals, petitions and requests for clemency” (p.170). As previously mentioned, there is also the cost of keeping an inmate on death row and operating the death facility (Costanzo, 1997). In capital punishment cases the workload is much more than a manslaughter case. Because of this there are two lawyers who take on the case (Costanzo, 1997). Just to pursue the death penalty, even if there is no conviction, the American taxpayers have already picked up a bill for roughly a quarter of a million dollars (Hanks, 2000).
Money makes all the Difference
One of the most famous murder trials was that of O.J. Simpson. Despite the recent developments with Mr. Simpson, he should have been in prison a long time ago. O.J. in his murder trial had more than eleven lawyers working for him (Costanzo, 1997). Besides that, Mr. Simpson had Jury selection exerts, private investigators, and high paid expert witnesses (Costanzo, 1997). Mr. Simpsons had a long trial, and his final bill was between six and eight million dollars. Mr. Simpson was pronounced not guilty. An attorney of Mr. Simpson on Larry King Live said that every defendant deserved the right to be represented in this way (Costanzo, 1997). However, most Americans are not this fortunate. Only ten percent of death row inmates had the funding to hire their own lawyer for their first trial (Hanks, 2000). When a poor person receives an attorney they will be given a public representative who will only have about forty hours to work on their clients case (Hanks, 2000). Its very simple, if one has money, the odds of being executed decline rapidly. If money is not an option, the odds of the gas chamber are extremely high.
Is the Death Penalty a Deterrence?
About seventy percent of Americans support the death penalty (Zimring, 2004). When asked why they support it, most will tell they believe that it reduces crime rates. Most American believe it is a form of a deterrent. Unfortunately, that is another misconception. In almost all cases, Murder is considered a crime of passion. There is no hard evidence from any study that is credible to support the idea that capital punishment runs through a murderers mind while killing (Costanzo, 1997). On the contrary, there are many studies on cities with similar makeup’s that suggest the death penalty actually raises murder rates (Hanks, 2000). When someone makes the claim that capital punishment is a deterrent, they are under the false assumption that all people think the same way (Hugo, 1998). This idea is flawed, especially when one takes into consideration that 10 percent of the people on death row have a mental disorder (Allen et al.,2006). Police chiefs across America are voicing their opinion (Dieter, 2009). In his review of the deterrence factor on the death penalty, Dieter interviewed John Conner the Chief Special Prosecutor in Montana for the last 21 years (Dieter, 2009). Conner told Dieter (2009),“The reality is that the death penalty is not, and never has been, a deterrent…. Certainly the money spent on trying to put someone to death for over 20 years could find better use in addressing those practical needs of our correctional system” (p.19). Death penalty advocates no longer use statistics from research when debating their point due to the fact that no statistical evidence exists to show they are correct in saying that the death penalty deters crime(Haines, 1999).
Final Thoughts
In light of the scriptural evidence against the death penalty, it is safe to say that Genesis 9:6 is not written permission to apply capital punishment. With the use of the whole Bible, it is evident that God does not require an eye for an eye. The Mosaic Law does not apply to America today. Recent studies prove that it is much more costly to put a man to death than to keep a man in prison. There is no study to prove this statement false. If America stopped applying the death penalty, the country would pick up a check for at least two billion dollars today and would save money every year thereafter. If capital punishment does deter crime, than it is safe to say that capital punishment would also deter a robbery or a rape. If this is the case, than why would America not apply this to other crimes? It is not the case. There is also no study to show that capital punishment deters crime. Capital punishment should be abolished on a biblical level, a financial level and a practical level. There is no study to prove this statement false. There is no argument to believe otherwise.
References
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1 Parenthesis added for clarification
