Capital punishment is making national headlines again with two high-profile murder cases. The case of Troy Davis in Georgia and Steven Woods in Texas bring the topic back to the forefront. This has long been a heated debate crossing gender and class lines. As a question of faith, I believe that killing is wrong for any reason. However I do believe that protecting yourself does not fall under the definition of murder, and is inherently for the greater good of the whole.
The articles are chocked full of moral implications by the group Amnesty International (AI). The group, whose numbers went from the tens of thousands in the 1960s to hundreds of thousands in the 1970s and 80s, believes it is wrong for a government to decide when to take a life. As I said before, I believe the execution of a person who is a danger to the well being of his/her society is justified. The group maintains hugely successful influence on several continents. Europe and the USA are two major areas where AI has successfully lobbied for stays of execution for prisoners numbering in the thousands.
This is where the debate gets tricky. You have obvious safety concerns letting these prisoners continue living. Some prisoners have the opportunity for parole; er go the opportunity to rejoin society as free men. Beyond that you have moral concerns regarding how just it is to take a life. I am far from a judge, but I believe that when a person breaks the law and takes a life, that man has forfeited his own life to God. Friends of mine directed me to this article, but what do you think? Is it right for one man to judge another? If not, what is the point of having laws in the first place? What do you decide?
http://tcadp.org/2011/09/14/state-of-texas-executes-steven-woods/#comment-50208
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/davis_reconsideration_rejected.html
I do agree with you in the matter of if one person takes anothers life they are giving up their own to God, excluding to factor of self or family protection. Even then though they still commit murder and break one of the Ten Comandments. Now don't get me wrong if someone tried to physically harm me or my son or anyother family member I would instantly fall into protection mode myself, and if killing someone was the only way to stop that harm I highly doubt I would think twice...but even then is it right to kill someone in God's eyes? That we will never know in this lifetime. Or is it right in God's eyes for men to "play God" and send them to their deaths for their wrong doings?
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing about Davis. He was convicted of murdering a police officer by a jury. The evidence was, to most of us, unsubstantial. The witnesses were, to most of us, untrustworthy, and unfortunately, our justice system has been played like a game by organized criminals for decades. The fact that he had to die for someone else's actions is completely disturbing. Can you imagine how his friends and family have felt for the last 20 years? Where I'm from, there are many people who deserve to die for their actions. I have no problem passing on judgment to them. As a matter of fact, most of the time, they never make it to a court, judgment is passed onto them in the streets. I feel terribly sorry for Troy and his family. This is one of many stories you can find online that shows that our country's judicial system is flawed.
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