“We cannot endure even to see a man put to death, though justly…We, deeming that to see a man put to death is as much the same as killing him” (Athenagoras of Athens, a Christian philosopher writing a defense of Christianity, speaking against state-sponsored killings and abortions, around 177 A.D.)
I am not sure where it originated, but somewhere someone started a rumor that if you are against the death penalty then you are soft on crime and care more about the guilty than the victim. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Through marriage, a close relative of mine was murdered. I officiated the funeral. I attempted to comfort my family. I know the pain and evil of murder. I also know the pain and evil of a justice system that freed the killer after a few short years behind bars.
As a minister, and more importantly as a follower of Jesus, I take his words about visiting prisoners seriously (Matthew 25:36). I believe in forgiveness and grace and mercy. I believe in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40). I also realize you don’t get placed on death row for being a boy scout. People do need to pay for their crimes. The more serious the crime, the more serious the penalty. But ultimately, as a follower of Jesus, I believe in reconciliation. I believe in redemption. I believe no one is outside the realm of God’s mercy and grace.
And I believe in showing deep compassion to the families of the victim. They are the ones who suffer the most.
Capital punishment has been in the news recently, mainly because of two executions that went horribly wrong. In actuality, there have been four botched executions this year. Those put to death were accused of horrendous crimes: beating a co-worker with a baseball bat, shooting two people at close range, rape and then slashing the victim’s throat, and burying someone alive. Because of the brutality of the crimes, many people have no compassion for less-than-perfect executions. “After all,” they say, “the condemned showed no compassion for their victim.” Many people struggle with the idea that the accused may have more rights than the victims.
Did these crimes deserve the death penalty? Probably.
Was justice served by these executions? Maybe, maybe not; it depends on your view of justice.
Was there an alternative to execution? Was there another penalty that would serve the brutality of the crime, honor the victim, show compassion for the victim’s families, and still satisfy justice? I think so. Let me explain.
On Aug. 6, a death-row inmate was executed in Missouri without any complications. The inmate raped and killed a 24-year-old female in 1995. He had been on death row for 18 years! The victim’s family had been waiting on justice for 19 years — almost two decades from the time of the crime to the execution!
A lot of things change over the course of 20 years. The only thing that doesn’t change is that the victim is still deceased. But for the victim’s family, time freezes. They can’t move forward. There is nothing anyone could say or do that would make a family member (or friend) feel better, and nothing can ever bring the person back to life. The best you can do is honor the memory of your loved one and put the perpetrator completely out of your mind. But that is impossible when it takes decades to move from sentencing to execution. That is cruel and unusual punishment for the victim’s family.
The average inmate spends 16 years on death row. Assuming a capital trial adds another two years, then 18 years between crime and death is quite common. Additionally, depending in which state you live, the median cost of the death penalty from beginning of trial to execution is $1-3 million per case — as much as three times the amount of regular incarceration for life!
Now, imagine the following alternative scenario:
A single mother of three is brutally raped, tortured, and killed. The murderer is an ex-boyfriend. He confesses to the crime and instead of going to trial — where the victim’s family will have to hear all the gory details and see all the bloody photographs, re-living the experience — the defendant accepts life in prison. In a matter of months, instead of decades, the condemned is led away in hand-cuffs never to bother the surviving victims again. The surviving victims can immediately begin the painfully slow process of putting their lives back together. AND instead of spending millions of dollars on appeals for the guilty, funds have been set up to help the children of the victim go to college and family members of the victim to receive counseling. Twenty years later, instead of re-living the nightmare over and over again, the surviving victims are in a much healthier place. Yes, the pain is still there, but the pain is eased by loving memories of the deceased instead of appeal after appeal after appeal before witnessing an execution.
Perhaps the condemned also change over the years. He has received the help he needed, has dealt with the pain of his abusive upbringing or undiagnosed fetal alcohol syndrome, or mental illness, or drug addiction, or whatever. Now, from within the walls of prison, he is able to share his story and consequences with younger delinquents, turning their lives around, keeping them from making similar mistakes. He is able, through redemption, to be a physical illustration of “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). And maybe, just maybe, as time goes by, a miracle of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness occurs as reconciliation happens between the victim’s family and the condemned.
I know some are thinking, “Yea, but another scenario would be to get rid of all the appeals and within 48 hours of conviction (or as soon as possible), carry out the execution.”
The problem with that scenario is two-fold: First, without an appeals process, the chances of killing an innocent person increase dramatically — a mistake that is highly unjust and a mistake that cannot be taken back. Since 1973, 144 death-row inmates have been exonerated, and a recent study suggest that 4 percent of inmates awaiting execution, are “probably innocent.” Second, through the appeals process, more than half of all capital-punishment sentences are overturned. Why? Because of new evidence, or evidence withheld at first trial, or overworked and underpaid/undertrained public defenders, or overzealous police officers and prosecuting attorneys. More often than not, at retrial, the accused is given life in prison.
Here is my conclusion about the death penalty: One can argue that for certain crimes, death is a just penalty. But while it may be just, we are incapable of carrying it out in a just manner. There is an alternative that is as just and allows for redemption, reconciliation, and a chance for mistakes to be rectified. As a society, we need to push for the alternative of life in prison.
Dr. Kevin Riggs pastors Franklin Community Church in Franklin, Tenn. He is also a college/seminary professor and has written two books, Failing Like Jesus (Randall House Publications, 2010) and Evangelism for the 21st Century (Evangelical Training Association, 2014). Kevin blogs regularly at www.profrevkev.com and can be followed on twitter @riggs_kevin . He lives in Franklin, Tenn., with his wife, Misty.
Image: Grieving family, altanaka / Shutterstock.com
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!