Death Penalty... (atheist, bible, quote, punished)

[irishmom]

Is it ok to sentence someone to death? Do you think God condemns the practice or supports it?

[pladecalvo]

Originally Posted by irishmom

Is it ok to sentence someone to death? Do you think God condemns the practice or supports it?

Well I don't know about god condemning it as I'm atheist but regarding the death penalty, I'm 100% against it. History has shown that too many people have spent most of their lives in prison, only for new evidence to come to light that has proven their innocence. Saying sorry isn't much use when you have executed the wrong person!

[KewGee]

Who has ever been executed and then proven to be not guilty after it was too late?

As far as the innocent spending years in prison, I truly believe the percentage of that is extremely low.

I do believe in the death penalty and I'm a Christian, and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Harsh, maybe so to some. I believe that today with DNA and all, the truth of the real culprit is pretty accurate.

Much to my chagrin, I'm not a Bible scholar but found the following link that can explain much better than I can how God supports the death penalty. Even though the information is 10 years old, the intent hasn't changed.

http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/punish.html

[MontanaGuy]

There are so many incidents in the Bible where the death penalty is imposed that I couldn't count them all. I mentioned on another thread that it appears that Christians are told they should stone people for death for certain things like working on the sabbath or being disrespect to their parents. Someone told me that was in the Old Testament so that's somehow differerent but it says it none the less. However in modern society there are some occations when I think it is justified and I would even add another one to the list. I think anyone who molests a child and it's absolutely proven forensically I believe the death penalty should be an option for the jury to consider. But I also agree that there's no room for error as the last post pointed out and we find innocent people quite often from DNA testing so it would have to be an absolutely overwhelming case without any room for error. Eyewitness testimony is notorious for being faulty and I wouldn't execute someone on that basis alone.

[pladecalvo]

Originally Posted by KewGee

Who has ever been executed and then proven to be not guilty after it was too late?

Well it is now accepted that..........
Roy Roberts. 1999
Larry Griffin. 1995
Roger Colman. 1992
Nicola Sacco. 1927
Bartolomeo Vanzetti. 1927

.............were all innocent.

Since most of the world abolished the death penalty in favour of imprisonment there have been scores of people who have spent long years in prison for crimes that they did not commit. Some of those crimes would have warrented the death penalty had it been operational in those countries. Just recently in the UK there was a case of a man who spent decades in prison for the murder of a policeman....only to have his case quashed because new evidence came to light that proved that the evidence used to convict him was fabricated by the police officers carrying out the investigation.

[webster]

Once someone is executed, there is almost never an effort to clear their name. Some who were exectuted but most likely innocent are: Carolos DeLuna (1989), Chicago Tribune investigation in 2006 revealed new evidence. Ruben Cantu at age 17 convicted, executed in 1993. Houston Cronicle provided new information pointing to his innocence. Larry Griffin, executed 1995. The State of Missouri has reopened the case. Gary Graham executed in 2000, convicted when he was 17. Graham's court appointed attorney never called key witnesses; three jurors later said they would have voted differently. Cameron Willingham executed 2004, four national arson experts have found the origional investigation was flawed. Chicago Tribune found the prosecutors and arson investigators used arson theories that are no longer accepted. Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a pardon for Lena Baker who was executed in 1945. Freeded from death row before execution: Gary Drinkard released in 2001 after 5 years on death row; Rudolph Holton, released 2003 after being on death row 13 years; Thomas Kimbell released in 2002; Juan Melendez, released after 17 years on death row. Larry Osborned, convicted when he was 17, released from death row...this list is huge and goes on and on. Note they were released as innocent and did not get a reduced sentence.

[pladecalvo]

Originally Posted by KewGee

Who has ever been executed and then proven to be not guilty after it was too late?

As far as the innocent spending years in prison, I truly believe the percentage of that is extremely low.

I do believe in the death penalty and I'm a Christian, and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Harsh, maybe so to some. I believe that today with DNA and all, the truth of the real culprit is pretty accurate.

Much to my chagrin, I'm not a Bible scholar but found the following link that can explain much better than I can how God supports the death penalty. Even though the information is 10 years old, the intent hasn't changed.

http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/punish.html

Well of course your god does love killing doesn't he. Do you know how many deaths are attributed to god in your bible? It's 2,270,365 (not including the Flood). No wonder you're for the death penalty!!

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by pladecalvo

Well of course your god does love killing doesn't he. Do you know how many deaths are attributed to god in your bible? It's 2,270,365 (not including the Flood). No wonder you're for the death penalty!!

God did not create man to be evil but perfect. In their original state, Adam and Eve were innocent, ageless, and immortal. From the very beginning, from the time God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s inanimate form, man has had the ability to choose right or wrong.

And he made his choice.

Had man never sinned, there would have been no resulting curse. But now it’s too late: “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

The point to keep in mind here is that humanity, not God, is responsible for sin.

I am in for the death penalty because I think people should be punished for their actions. You have now informed me that innocent people have died because of the death penalty, and that is very sad. I have no control over that; I was not judge and jury or a lying witness.

Again, the percentage of those is so low from all the people in this world that need to be removed because of heinous crimes committed that I feel the death penalty should continue. If it were someone in my family that was convicted, I would feel the same way.

[webster]

So you would be willing to let someone in your family be executed even if he or she were innocent but could not be proven so? Interesting

[irishmom]

Well personally I think it's wrong. But where in the bible does it give permission to man to take a life for any reason?