Explain what differing Christian attitudes might be to Capital Punishment.
Explain what differing Christian attitudes might be to Capital Punishment.
Capital Punishment is the castigation of a convicted criminal by execution. In 18th Century Britain over two hundred offences carried the death penalty, including such crimes as petty theft and forgery. Over time, the range of crimes punishable by execution reduced considerably. In 1965 the death penalty was abolished for all forms of murder: leaving treason and arson in the Royal Dockyards as the only capital crimes. In many other countries, including some states of the USA, the death penalty has either been eradicated, or is no longer in use. Its effectiveness as a deterrent is still an open question, but the inability to repair a miscarriage of justice, among other things, has made it an unpopular form of punishment in the modern world.
