Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Capital Punishment


I happen to be in favor of capital punishment. Why? Because "Thou shalt not kill" should be translated "Thou shalt not murder," and because God has decreed that when men kill other men--who are created as representatives of God--that they deserve to die.

Gen. 9:5-6: And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."

Proverbs 17:15: "Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent --the Lord detests them both." [I think this verse applies both to capital punishment and abortion.]

Prov. 6:16-17: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."

I was reading MIND HUNTER, a book by John Douglas, about serial killers and criminal profiling, and came across an interesting anecdote. (This book is not for the squeamish). So for what it's worth, here 'tis, quoted from the book:

When the director and cast of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS came to Quantico to prepare for filming, I brought Scot Glenn, who played Jack Crawford--the special agent some say was based on me--into my office. Glenn was a pretty liberal guy who had strong feelings on rehabilitation, redemption, and the fundamental goodness of people. I showed him some of the gruesome crime-scene photos we worked with every day. I let him experience recordings made by killers while they were torturing their victims. I made him listen to one of two teenage girls in Los Angeles being tortured to death in the back of a van by two thrill-seeking killers who had recently been let out of prison.

Glenn wept as he listened to the tapes. He said to me, "I had no idea there were people out there who could do anything like this." An intelligent, compassionate father with two girls of his own, Glenn said that after seeing and hearing what he did in my office, he could no longer oppose the death penalty: "The experience in Quantico changed my mind about that for all time."

And there's the story. I don't have to look at photos or hear recordings to know that men are capable of atrocious cruelty. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, I simply found that story interesting enough to share.

And there you have my thoughts for the day.

~~Angie

9 comments:

Mocha with Linda said...

Well-said.

Anonymous said...

I've just recently had this topic come up with a new friend. I had no defense for my position of being not only Pro-Life, but also Pro-Execution. I will send him this link, for it speaks volumes on the topic. Thanks, Angie! Clyde

Lynda in MO said...

Okay Angie, all these posts on crime and criminals -- clearly your next book must be related - how about a hint??? Please??

Megan DiMaria said...

This is interesting in light of a conversation I recently had with an atheist who claims that moral laws based on "the rules of the Christian God" are no longer necessary. The reason? Because of evolution, mankind has evolved into a nicer, kinder species. Ha!

Linda G said...

I totally believe in the death penalty. We have it here in Oregon, but it is a joke. There are so many automatic appeals that I don't think anyone has been put to death since it was reestablished. In fact a few people have died on death row because the appeals process takes so long.

Leslie said...

I am for the death penalty but only for the person who kills another person. Getting the death penalty because you participated in a holdup where someone else killed another person is not justice (yes, its happened).

I think my biggest hang up about the death penalty is that there are innocent people who have been put to death due to negligence or wrong doing on the part of the legal system, so I'm all for the appeal process and thankful it exists.

Angela said...

I'm very grateful for the appeals process because, for all the reasons stated above, no one wants to see an innocent man condemned to die. I just wish our courts were more efficient so that the process didn't take so long--some people are on death row longer than their victims were allowed to live.

It's not a perfect system, but it's the best the world has at this time, so I'm thankful for it.

Leslie said...

Ok - I take back what I said about someone getting the death penalty because of participating in a holdup - I just checked and Texas only gives the death penalty for murder so I was apparently given some bad info.

joanieponytail said...

One of the important reasons to support the death penalty is the benefit to the condemned. It forces that person to face their own mortality. The hope for me is that that will bring them to the cross of Christ and to repentance.

If they are saved, the actual execution has the added benefit of freeing them from the memory of the horror of what they have done.

There was a teenager girl who was testifying at the penalty phase of a trial that had convicted a man of murdering her mother. She said she did not want him to get the death penalty because if he was saved between now and his execution, he would get to go to heaven all that much sooner.