Capital Punishment
The use of capital punishment and its efficiency in the United States has been in debate for hundreds of years. According to the United States Department of Justice, 98 inmates were executed in the United States in 1999, more than in any other year since the early 1950's. Currently, however, only 38 states have capital statutes. Justice cannot be served fully until the debate on capital punishment is resolved and all states come to agree that the death penalty is the best way to do just that. Not only does evidence show that the death penalty deters acts of murder and recompenses against murderers, but it is also biblically supported. One of the reasons the death penalty is implicated is not simply to punish the offenders, but also to prevent against future offenses of the same kind (Sellin 77). By executing criminals, we take away their ability to cause harm in the future and send a message to others. This message instills in people a sense of fear, a knowledge that there is severe penalty for serious criminal acts. In 1953, the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment stated: ...we cannot number its (the death penalty) successes. No one can ever know how many people have ref
Opponents of capital punishment argue that the death penalty is sometimes issued to the innocent and even that the New Testament teachings of Christ denounce the death penalty. Neither of these, however, maintain much of a solid argument. The death penalty is clearly the most effective, reasonable, and justifiable punishment for murder. The government should not be asked to resort to weaker punishment, especially in cases involving serious criminal acts. Murderers show no respect for the lives of others, and in return they do not deserve to be shown any degree of mercy from a strong, moral government. As a civilized society, we should allow the government to preserve justice. Maintaining and enforcing capital punishment is the best way to do so. The issue of capital punishment is given quite a bit of attention in the Bible. In fact, we find many cases in which God commands the use of capital punishment throughout the Old Testament (Anderson). Just a couple of examples include the flood of Noah (Gen. 6-8) and the destroying of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18-19). The Bible teaches that the belief in the sanctity of life is the basis for capital punishment. It states, "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, He made man" (Gen. 9.6). Even again in Exodus 21, God specifically commanded capital punishment for murder
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Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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