Jairus' Daughter

The Death Penalty

Here I go.

Reading about the execution of Dexter Lee Vinson, I kept seeing the movie Dead Man Walking superimposed on the story.  The soundtrack played in my head as I took on the perspective of the accused, the victim, their families, the prison officials, and the governor in turn.  It was an uncomfortable exercise in empathy.  I would not have wanted to be any of them.

Gov. Tim Kaine has made known his personal feelings regarding the death penalty.  He is against it based on the convictions of his Catholic faith.  Yet he went against those convictions to uphold a decision made by the people of Virginia.  And I commend him for that.  Not for denying his conscience, but for making the more difficult choice.

Either choice would have been right.  Both staying the execution and refusing to stay, in a metaphysical sense, defend life.  That, I assume, is the Catholic precept:  to preserve the sanctity of human life.  But we as humans did not start out exalting our existence; God had to teach us to value life.  And He did that by instituting the death penalty.

When Noah stepped off the ark, it was onto a different world.  The entire population had been wiped out in God's judgment, and now the rules were different.  Genesis 9:3-6 records God's new mandate:

To overturn a decision of the courts—and in doing so nullify a 9-year legal process—in order to pardon a convicted murderer would have been a statement affirming life.  But allowing justice to take its course, demanding an account from Dexter Lee Vinson for the life of Angela Felton, makes a stronger statement.  It carries the notion that human life is so weighty, so important, that we as a society will not shrink from whatever means necessary to protect and champion it.  Even to the point of death.

Execution is messy.  It leaves a dead body, images that witnesses probably wish they could erase, grief that family members did not deserve, antipathy on the part of many peace-loving citizens.  But the governor was willing to accept all of these in his affirmation of the state's decision.  He could have prevented this particular mess, and pacified those committed to his own stance on capital punishment, with one telephone call.  Only the most cynical of critics would have characterized it as cowardice.  I am sure there are many, however, including the family of Angela Felton, who were heartened by his courage.

good insights again M...I always appreciate your thoughtful take on things.

Here here. Let's remember that the correct translation is "thou shalt not murder," not "thou shalt not kill."

Your comments about the death penalty verge on the ridiculous. Protecting life by taking it? As we say in Europe, only in America. God made it very clear in the ten commandments: thou shalt not kill. End of argument. You could argue that he has the power to take life because he is God. He put us on this world and he can call us back whenever he chooses. Picking verses out of contest from the Bible to justify your opinions is shameful. After all you can pick tracts that approve of slavery and even rape. Shame on you!