Religion and Criminal Justice - "Let's keep society safe and give murderers what they deserve - the death penalty".

The disadvantages of Capital Punishment are shown most prominently in Jesus and what he stood for, i.e. forgiveness and sanctity of life, also in the Sermon on the Mount and many other parts of the New Testament. This does give the argument against capital punishment a head start but there are also other factors to consider. By letting a murderer be put to death you will be legalising murder for the executioner. Who is then to say who can and cannot kill? If a government decides this, there is sure to be religious opposition, and if for example the Pope decides who can kill another then he would be going against his own religion. When death is made legal in any way, even in cases of war, it is encouraging violence. War should and is frequently only a last resort ‘Just War’. The death penalty for murder would not be a last resort as there are alternatives and as again who is to decide which murder and in what circumstances it would warrant another death. In any case and in any trial mistakes could be made. There will always be the risk that an innocent person will be put to death because of another’s mistake. According to Christian beliefs no one should be killed especially because God, the creator, is the only one who can give and take life, this is called the sanctity of life. There are other ways of dealing with criminals, even murderers and many people believe that these ways should be explored instead of using the death penalty. Again many examples could be used: Sermon on the Mount - Love your enemies. Matthew 5 – Don’t seek revenge “ If anyone slaps you on your right cheek, let them slap you on your left cheek too”, but one question could sum up the argument without using religious references. Do two wrongs make a right?

Is the death penalty ever justified? In religious terms, no. There are simply too many teachings against it. It is true to say that there are exceptions to every rule, for example to the rule thou shalt not kill, the church will condone fighting in wars. But killing is different to murder and although the murderer has violated the sanctity of life it is still forgivable. God is the judge and to violate the sanctity of life for revenge against the murderer is as bad a crime as the initial murder itself.

In non-religious terms the answer is still no. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The wrong message is being taught and not the precious lesson of forgiveness. One human characteristic that cannot be relied on in this situation is opinion. Every person has an opinion whether it is voiced or not and that opinion will be influenced by the circumstances and personal involvement.

It is my opinion that the death penalty can never be justified no matter how strong your feelings are for it. What a person has done does not affect the care they get. Every person is different and that is why judging others by your own standards is wrong. I hope that I have viewed this subject objectively and represented religious and non-religious feelings justly. In conclusion the death penalty can never be justified and I disagree with the title statement.

By Philippa Young

Bibliography

The Bible Old and New Testaments: Sermon on the Mount

                                            The Lord’s Prayer

Contemporary Issues – Capital Punishment. Pages 52 – 55

Dorling Kindersley Encyclopaedia.