The Death Penalty has been a very hotly debated item for decades. There are various viewpoints both for and against. Some people put forward the argument that if someone is found guilty of taking another persons life they should forfeit their own life. A common rational is cost, it is cheaper to kill someone that keep them in jail for the rest of their natural life. This argument is flawed. The economics behind this argument are flawed. When you consider the costs of the appeal process, it is often more expensive to execute someone than keep them in jail.
An equally common and contentious argument concerns the morality of imposing the Death Penalty. There have been incidences where due to more modern scientific analysis, using techniques such as DNA analysis that have reversed court decisions. Of course the reversal comes too late if the person has already been executed. It looks good on paper, but does not bring the person back to this Earth.
The third argument revolves around the religious grounds of taking the quantum leap to taking another persons life. It is a complex issue, you must balance the legal options against personal beliefs.
I decided to talk to well known Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer John Contini. As a defense lawyer I was pretty certain that he would be against the Death Penalty. I was however somewhat unprepared for his comments:
Many Christians (along with our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of every faith, for that matter) appear to be getting too personal in their criticism of one another in response to the Casey Anthony case / trial — questioning one another’s faith, over the hotly debated, contentious issue of the death penalty. My thinking on this:
Friends, Christians argue with each other all the time about the death penalty. They cherry pick the Bible to pick the scriptures that seemingly support their side of the issue or position. I happen to not believe in the death penalty, but I don’t question the faith of those who trumpet it or believe in it. I do think that we as believers, however, should advance our position or argument in a more Christ-like manner, never getting personal in our criticism. I recall that Henry Ford may have said, “if two people think alike all the time, one of them is unnecessary.” On a personal level, I agree with what Clarence Darrow (the famous trial lawyer) said in the infamous Leopold and Lobe trial many decades ago: we should respect the sanctity of life more than the killer. If we execute the killer, then we are arguably no better than the killer and arguably just as sociopathic as the killer, valuing life no more than they, acting in that calculating, cold and premeditated fashion, just like the killer, etc. That argument worked with that jury, and I have used it in my own murder trials to beat the death penalty, and yet not all Christians agree with us. It is fair to say that half do not, so I do think that we shouldn’t criticize their faith. I think you’re right when you say that Jesus would no doubt not take the death penalty position, but He also said what He said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed be the peacemakers,” so let’s all make peace, ok?
I doubt that Casey Anthony will face the death penalty, but I am equally certain that a guilty verdict is in the offing.
I am interested in what the readers have to say
Simon Barrett
John Contini, is a highly experienced, veteran criminal defense attorney, has successfully represented thousands of criminal defendants in Florida and throughout the United States over the past 23 years. Contini, a former Broward County (South Florida) felony trial prosecutor, has defended the criminally accused since 1983. His practice expanded in the last several years to include the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, but Contini is best known for his success in the area of criminal defense, including murder, drug cases, juvenile cases, white collar crimes, sex crimes, and federal criminal defense. He can be found online at JohnContini.com and Danger Road is available at better bookstores everywhere or from Amazon.
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThis is my point of view as a Christian, and I can assure you that merely being a Christian won’t mean we will all feel the same way about it.
First of all, God hates rebellion. We are encouraged to follow laws, and obey our leaders, who are put over us by Him. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
This means we are expected to follow our society’s laws, and accept the consequences when we do not.
Jewish law contained many provisions for the death penalty, even using the words (the guilty) “shall be put to death”.
God understands removing the cancer from a society.
I see Christ’s commands as being directed at individuals. We are not to judge, yes – but only from a position of hypocrisy. It is not a sin to call “sin” what it is – only a sin to be guilty ourselves, yet “point to the speck in our neighbor’s eye, ignoring the log in our own” (paraphrase).
But pointing out that someone committed adultery, or murder, or theft, when they in fact did so, is not being “judgmental”, it’s being correct.
Seeing that God’s laws to the Hebrews did sanction the death penalty, and those were clearly *societal* laws being discussed in Exodus, Leviticus, I believe that we have two different issues at stake here.
Namely, how is a human being on planet earth supposed to behave? But then, if we break this code of conduct, how does a society protect itself?
By removing the cancer, when the cases are extreme enough to warrant it.
YOu really opened up a can of worms here Simon, but I choose peace. When I try to justify judgement on someone I just think of some inspiring words the Buddah once said…
A tooth for a tooth…. makes the whole world go hungry.
An Eye for an Eye… makes the whole world go blind.
It will not solve anything and cause more problems.
Ardra, I agree with you, as a Christian, I feel we have to obey the law and when someone doesn’t they should suffer the consequences. I have been married to a Christian man for 26 years and we disagree on the death penalty….Except for Casey, I didn’t ask him to elaborate and we didn’t discuss his comments. I just think enough is enough and if there where harsher punishments for people that are found guilty it might cut down on the number of people committing such crimes.
I love the Henry Ford quote, and the spirit of this article. We can feel passionately about our beliefs but we don’t need to shred each other up in making our point (whether you are religious or not). I was raised a Catholic, but I’ve become jaded about the church after years of what I viewed as double standards, hypocrisy and outright human rights violations. My faith in God is intact, but I will not have any church as my shepherd. My core values tell me I’m divided on the death penalty. There are some cases that inspire such rage that I can only hope the guilty party is put to death (people like Hitler, Charles Manson and his crew, Jeffrey Dahmer, and others). But then there are others who are convicted (like the West Memphis 3) who may have been wrongly convicted or at least they have not yet been fairly tried. Therefore, I guess my view is only confessed killers would get the death penalty…but then, no one would confess! So I suppose I am against the death penalty. As for Casey Anthony, how can the prosecutors get a 1st degree murder conviction with no proof of how Caylee died. It’s their word against the defense and I’m not sure how the jury can agree to a 1st degree sentence without concretely evidence of if Caylee died accidentally or was murdered. All they have is evidence that Casey is a compulsive liar, a narcissist, a horrible person and lousy mother who covered up the death of her child. No absolute proof that she killed Caylee. Believe me, I think she killed Caylee based on the Google searches on the home computer but in terms of justice for all of us, I think 1st degree murder conviction is a stretch without more compelling evidence from the prosecutor on how Caylee died.
Clarence Darrow is my hero along with Thurgood Marshall and a few other brilliant jurists. I am an atheist and I believe that Jesus Christ was a really good man with powerful values. I believe that state killing diminishes the reverence for life. Study after study have determined that the death penalty does not reduce crime. If it did then since 1976 when Canada outlawed the death penalty our murders should have shot up dramatically reaching numbers equivalent to those in the US on a per capita basis. It did not. Now, we have fundamentalist Prime Minister who thinks the death penalty is a great invention just as many states are becoming more enlightened and abolishing it.
Religious arguments for and against harsh penalties, for and against the death penalty are the worst kind of arguments to have when determining secular court penalties for persons of all or no religions. Surely, there should be some way to get around out entertainment-happy news media and find a way to give the public information about the most effective to reeducated those who are good candidates for rehab and imprisoning the rest until they are no longer a danger to society. Topics like death and abortion never produce a consensus so maybe they should just be left out of a secular government and justice system.
Child molestation and rape are the most common of severe violent crimes. We could probably all agree to keeping these people in jail until they can prove to us they are no longer a threat.
Redirect sentencing to protect the
If people use quotes from the bible then all quotes need to be used concerning murdering . First and formost… “Thou Shall Not KILL”
Second “The TRUTH shall set you free”
Lies are of Satan for he is the father of lies. As long as this woman and her lawyer who is taking the place of a false witness by adding more lies and defending her lies….Jesus can not and WILL NOT be partakers of their sins. Forgiveness will only come when all the lies stop….the truth spoken and a true hearts desire to seek His forgiveness and then will she be forgiven for all that happened or whatever happened to little Caylee.
As long as she and her lawyer continue to deal in lies she is not a friend of God nor Jesus. The truth and ONLY the truth can set her free !
I think it bears mentioning that as Christians, we are following Jewish traditions. If you revere the Ten Commandments, and feel an obligation to keep them, then you are keeping Jewish law, truthfully.
The Ten Commandments, among the other laws in Exodus and Leviticus, are the core laws of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, and those who follow him observe many tenets of Judaism.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
To me, this means full sanction by Him of everything in the Old Testament. How could it be otherwise?
Now, he *also* said in Matt 9:13 “But go ye and learn what this meaneth: `I will have mercy and not sacrifice.’”
Jesus was explaining that the cornerstone of the Law was Mercy. Because we are simply too imperfect to achieve salvation on our own, hence the need for a Savior. And that Jesus was here not to condemn, but to save.
Now, comparing God’s laws (which Christ came to fulfill, not abolish) to The Beatitudes (where Jesus said things like “blessed are the peacemakers”) isn’t really apples-to-apples.
Read Exodus and Leviticus again and I think you will come to understand that the sometimes very harsh laws and death penalties were necessary to separate Israel from the pagan civilizations it was surrounded by. God said, “I will make of you a peculiar people”, who would follow God’s ways, not the ways of man. This often meant driving out, or cutting out, any influence that could damage the focus of God’s people on their religion and His commandments and tenets. These are Societal laws that were laid down in great detail that would allow Israel to succeed and flourish under God’s plan for them.
But Jesus came to bring life, not death. Asking “would Jesus be for the death penalty” is kind of a silly question, in a way. Death was not in Him. Death had no part in His purpose.
Of *course* Jesus would have not given the thumbs-down and said “fire away gentlemen, this sinner deserves it.” He came to redeem. He came to give us life. He came to defeat eternal Death, which is separation from God.
If we all followed Jesus’ urgings, we wouldn’t need to have a discussion about the moral validity or justice of the death penalty.
But we aren’t all christians, and we don’t all believe, and even christians are under the yoke of original sin, living in a fallen creation, where bad things can happen to good people. The cosmic war between Heaven and Hell occasionally rages in our own minds. We are given choices. Sometimes people make bad choices.
Obviously Jesus came to explain to us simple humans how we were to live. The 10 Commandments are holy and absolute, but also just the high points. Jesus told parables to explain in detail how mercy was the cornerstone of the law from the standpoint of how we individuals interact with God. Jesus elaborated on how a human being should behave, and this is laid upon individuals more than societies.
But reading Exodus and Leviticus, and the societal laws laid out in those books, acknowledging that Jesus confirmed he did not come to abolish the laws, but to confirm them, it’s obvious to me that God understands the idea of cutting away the cancer, and removing evil influences from society, so that it may blossom in good health. And that Jesus couldn’t have possibly disagreed with Exodus and Leviticus, because they are the words of His own Father.
What Jesus came to do was something far more personal for you and me. He had a dim view of society “You generation of vipers!” but he was merciful with individuals.
A lot of words to explain to you that – a Christian is in most ways a Jew – and a Christian does not disbelieve the Old Testament, nor did Christ invalidate it. Quite the opposite. Therefore Exodus and Leviticus still stand as societal laws, despite Jesus’ teaching us how to be human beings that could create a perfect society, God has still sanctioned the death penalty as a valid means of removing cancer from the society itself.
Just my opinion, but I think based on sound reasoning and scripture. Your mileage may vary.
I would be remiss to make it clear that Jesus did, in fact, bring Change. The Old Testament – the Old Covenant – was broken by Him. When he died, the veil in the temple ripped in two, symbolic of the breaking of the old covenant. The new covenant – the New Testament – was necessary because “for man, it is impossible. But nothing is impossible for God.”
This is reinforced by the Matthew 9:13 quote – God was no longer interested in animal sacrifice, the shedding of blood, which is the only atonement for sin. it is written that “the wages of sin are death” so shedding blood is the only cosmic payment for sin, the only true justice. But it is written that “It is not His will that any should perish”. So Mercy (as the cornerstone of the Law) was offered through Grace. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, the ultimate shedding of blood, HOLY blood, to atone for all mankind. This is the Good News that Christians speak of. That something impossible for us, was done for us by Christ.
We are bought and paid for.
I’m sorry to post this off-topic, but it had great importance to the concept of “Did Jesus come to abolish/change the law from the old testament”, where in fact, the death penalty was sanctioned by God.
And this has bearing on the idea of, “can a Christian support the death penalty”.
I say we can, because our Savior declared Himself to be the fulfillment of Law, not the abolition of it. And the laws are clear to see in Exodus and Leviticus (particularly) regarding the death penalty and its acceptable application to serious crimes.
if you really want the answers ask a corrections officer at those prisons. My niece works at a high security facility, she knows what the answer is. Life in prison is not for alot of these cases.jmo
No where in Scripture does Jesus Christ claim to be a jew, instead Scripture says that Jesus Christ was killed by His enemies, the jews.
Study to show thyself approved the Bible says and the original text shows the command was
THOU SHALT NOT MURDER, even Jesus said to slay his enemies. Luke 19:27.
Mike, I am kind of in a state of disbelief that you do not recognize that Jesus was a Jew. Have you ever read the new testament? They called him Rabbi. He taught in the Jewish Temple, reading from the Jewish Torah, and declared it the fulfillment of prophecy – Jewish prophecy from the old testament. He was descended from the line of the Jewish King David. Born in the Jewish city of David, Bethlehem.
What did they hang on his cross? “King of the Jews”.
Surely you are joking or something?
I seem to vaguely recall a commandment from God….it goes something like this….”Thou shall not kill”.
If Jesus Christ was a juror, do you think he would recommend the death penalty?
Think about it.
Let Casey Anthony answer to God, not to executioners.
Jail, without parole. God will sort out the rest.
If only everyone would keep those commandments… we wouldn’t need to have this conversation… unfortunately there are unbelievers, or those who just see things differently than I do, or you do…
ardra…
amen, sister.
I do not cast blame, nor denigrate those who think callous murderers like Casey Anthony (yes, I know….innocent until proven guilty) should be executed. But I do believe this…however much righteous fury and horror we feel at such acts of incredible barbarism, it-is-not-our-place, nor our “right”, to kill in retribution.
Tell me…how do people feel about the civilian executioner who is paid…paid…to cold-bloodedly end the life of another human being? Is this not murder in the first degree? To me, anyways…the answer is obvious. YES it is homicide. State-sponsored murder.
I ask only these questions of all…asked with respect. Could you accept money to pull a switch that sends 1000s of volts through another person’s body? How about dumping cyanide pills into a bucket of acid, and then coolly watch while the hooded, shackled prisoner goes into agonizing convulsions until dead? Maybe opening a trapdoor from a gallows is ok? Or practice your target shooting in Utah? Do you think you made God happy?
Dear Lord…is this righteous? Do you really believe God is four square with such state-sponsored acts of revenge-based brutality?
As hard as it is to accept that evil monsters should not be executed, God commands us to respect all life. We are only temporary custodians of this little blue planet – not its’ master. God never said being a Christian believer was easy. It’s not.
On a secular note…I am a Canadian…we abolished the death penalty in the mid 70′s…specifically because we, as a society, believed then, as we do today, that a “civilization” cannot be such if it lowers itself to the level of state-sponsored homicide…however you wish to spin it.
If Casey Anthony is found guilty of first degree murder, then put her in jail for the rest of her mortal life, and fufill the justice system’s most important function – to protect the rest of society from such dangerous people.
Job done.
I forgot something in my post.
Peace to all…
Simon a great article and the quote is unforgettable
What a tough question. . I wonder my self how I really feel. Me, I can‘t even crush a bug.
But when I hear of a horrific act against an innocent human being, I am so appalled and angry I shout “just put the needle in and save everyone time, money, aggravation and the shear pain involved in a trial and hearing all the details.” Gazey, Polly’s killer Davis and little Shania’s killer are just a few that jump into my mind . Then I think the death penalty may be far too simple for them. Let them sit in jail never feeling anything of comfort or freedom again. Let them be tortured with their own deviant needs unable to be filled due to their caged existence. Lock them up and forget about their dismal souls. I always know my feelings are “who would do such unimaginable acts if they were sane” Never do I allow myself to think , they can be helped or cured or should be medicated to squelch their thinking or sick needs. You can not heal or cure a monster. The shear terror of their crimes would make a normal person mad with realization of their own acts. So supplying any type of treatment is certainly a squandering of efforts in my opinion. A healthy person could not live with themselves and their acts. The memories, facts and guilt of their actions would work against good mental health and stability, it would seem.
We have so much to consider in this death penalty question. Should it be reserved for the worst killers in our society? Should we use it on anyone who kills another person? State by state it is not utilized uniformly. A lot of premeditated murderers are sitting with life sentences while others who, out of neglect or reckless behavior were judged responsible for a death ,are deemed murderers and are on death row awaiting their sentence. Should it depend on what state you murder someone in what your fate will be? What about your financial ability to hire a top notch attorney versa a public defender? Should that play a role? Does it?
Should it be used as a preventative measure? Well we know thus far the death penalty has not been affective prevention. The states which are pro death penalty states have no less crime in them than the ones who are more sparring with the death penalty.
We are a throw away society today. We euthanize 1000s of animals each year. Unwanted and uncared for healthy animals that are not convenient in our lives. We shrug the responsibility of their care and simply kill them to make room for more unwanted creatures. Over crowed jails and a lack of ability to rehabilitate these people who have committed heinous, cruel crimes, we choose death as their fate. It is strange how we use the excuse with innocent animals that euthanasia is the humane and efficient thing to do. With criminals we consider it the ultimate punishment. We are a society with much angst over what to do with what we do not want or for some, no angst at all. Do we recycle or toss. Do we rescue or kill? Do we incarcerate as punishment or do we simply pull out the needle and be done? What is the best thing for society as a whole ? What is the guideline we should use.? Is it or can it ever be uniform? Is Casey Anthony the same as say Richard speck or Ted Bundy? Does the death penalty require a degree of despicability, calculation or heinousness ? Is this measured by the crime itself or by public opinion? Is intent to kill figured in or is it just anyone who kills another person? Does the press , media and ambition or politics play onto the equation of who receives the death penalty? Have we established a legal system that serves out punishment equally to all, with specific unalterable guidelines? Is there a way to assure no wrongful convictions, false confessions, tainted evidence or mistaken eyewitnesses ever happen? If not we may need to rethink just what we are doing using the death penalty as punishment. The whole moral issue is another can of worms all together.
Hi Barb….thank you for the thoughtful post.
I will respond tomorrow, as I wish to digest and consider your talking points….
May I change the subject just for now since I don’t see where else to post this. I am furious that the Judge just stopped court at 3:30 because Casey is sick. She is not sick, another one of her lies. He should have forced her to sit there and watch her dead child’s skull being shown. She hadn’t even been looking at the pic’s. She had looked away all day. No doubt that Jose told her to do this and sway the jury. She did’t give little Caylee a break from pain and suffering and yet she gets a get out of court pass. She didn’t look sick to me and went out and came back. Why do that if she is that bad off? OH I AM FURIOUS! I haven’t been upset till today that the Judge allowed her to get away with this. She is back in her cell saying now I am such a good actress as well as a lier. I will win an academy award for sure and when I am out I will be an actress as well she should be. She’s no doubt fooling everyone except the State and they can’t do anything about it..
Hi Fran:
Something to bear in mind….just a thought. The judge probably didn’t have much choice but to permit this. If he refused, it would open an avenue for appeal, where her lawyers could spin the argument that he was clearly showing prejudice towards the defendant.
Its nasty out there. And the defense will try to throw poop everywhere, hoping some sticks. And they will try every evasive tactic possible. This drama today does not surprise me…
I am a Jewish woman. I do believe that Henry Ford was
anti semitic, so I won t even address anything he said.
I am against the death penalty. I do not know why they asked for it
in the casey anthony case other then to advance some D A s career.
Her representation is terrible, the judge should stop the trial o that
fact alone. I hope any conviction gets reversed. This is a travesty
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