In line with the U.S. law, when a person is found guilty or pleads guilty, the judge
imposes a sentence depending on the type of the crime committed (Bohm & Haley, 2017).
Death penalty is a punishment imposed for the most heinous crimes and is only executed in
several jurisdictions of the United States. From the legal perspective, capital punishment
eliminates the possibility of forgiveness in Christ as a death row inmate must carry out the
accountability for the committed crime to the State (BBC, 2019). When it comes to the
Bible, the issue of forgiveness does not become certain, as the New Testament contains
plenty of lines that prescribe death to criminals (BBC, 2009). For instance, “For God said,
‘honor your father and mother’ and ‘anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to
death’.” (Matthew 15:4). When commenting on his magistrate, Paul said that “he is a servant
of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4). The contradiction of these
verses to the primary Christian principle – “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 21:13) supports the
idea that the Biblical concept of forgiveness lacks clarity when it comes to heinous crime
(Hiers, 2004).
Capital punishment as a sentence imposed on this inmate is a case of retributive
justice rather than restorative, which function is to make a criminal repay for an offense
committed (Bohm & Haley, 2017). This principle punishment relies on the Biblical principle,
“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” interpreted as a roadmap for punishing criminals
in accordance with the degree of the crime committed (Bohm & Haley, 2017, p. 330). In my
opinion, death penalty is inappropriate in the modern civilized society. “Thou shalt not kill” is
a fundamental law that precipitates further Biblical discussions of how those violating this
law should be punished. A democratic alternative for capital punishment is “life
imprisonment with absolutely no possibility of parole (LWOP)” (Bohm & Haney, 2017, p.
346). This punishment is consistent with the central idea of forgiveness in the Bible and the
criminal’s accountability to the State.
References
BBC. (2009). Capital punishment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/capitalpunishmen
t_1.shtml
BBC. (2019). Crime and punishment.
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z3jwb82/revision/7
Bible. (2011). New International Version. Biblica.
https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/
Bohm, R. M., & Haley, K. N. (2017). Introduction to Criminal Justice (9th ed.). New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Hiers, R. H. (2004). The death penalty and due process in biblical law. University of Detroit
Mercy Law Review, 81, 751-843.
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