New Jersey Death Penalty
I found out in today’s local paper that a New Jersey State Senate committee is slated to consider replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment without parole this Thursday. This is, in part, the result of a report filed by a special commission appointed by the Legislature which found that killing inmates costs taxpayers more than paying for prisoners to serve life terms and further concluded the death penalty does not deter people from committing murders.
This means that, while many states have reinstated the death penalty since capital punishment was reinstated 31 years ago, New Jersey could become the first state to abolish the death penalty. The Senate report included only practical considerations: cost and deterrence. However, moral and spiritual considerations are not out of line, even for the New Jersey Senate.
I offer some reason why I, as a Christian, find capital punishment objectionable, as so ask that this practice be ended.
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As someone who serves a Lord and Savior who was unjustly executed by the state (1 Peter 1:19), I cannot ignore that this trend has never ceased. Between 1973 and 2005, 123 people in 25 US states were released from death row when new evidence of their innocence emerged. While it is debatable how many have been unjustly executed, it is certain at least some have.
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As a Christian I believe that all have an opportunity to seek reconciliation with God up to and at the moment of our last breath. By greatly shortening the natural life span of a person, we deny time to repent, witness to the wrong done, and serve the Lord in blessedness.
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If the life of the murdered person is of infinite worth, the person being executed is no less a person of infinite worth. The secularist might argue that such a murderer forfeits their right to life, but no Christian can argue that a person forfeits their eternal worth before God. As a Christian, there is no escape from this logic: it is no less a murder to execute a murderer and murder is forbidden to us (Exodus 20:13).
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Most, if not all, inmates suffer severe mental distress due to their impending execution. As a Christian, I believe this violates the Lord’s commandment to love others as he loved us (John 13). Jesus died for us, not us for him.
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Every time a person is murdered, the earth cries out because of their blood (Genesis 4). When their murderer is killed for that crime, the earth cries out no less. Capital punishment only creates more victims.
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Every major Christian denomination condemns the death penalty. As a Christian, I bow to the leadings of the Spirit in the community. When one Christian hears the Spirit it is prophecy; when almost all hear it, we call it divine revelation.
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