Murder is wicked, NOT the Death Penalty!

Fri, Oct 14. 2011

Editor: When a man boldly saws off a young lady’s neck at a bus stop for all to see and now sits in prison being fed by taxpayers’ money…that is wicked!{{more}}

When a man mercilessly cuts another man’s throat, cuts off his head, wraps his head in trousers, vulgarly handles the man’s private part, slits the belly, covers the body and buries the victim’s head under a banana plant…that is wicked!

When a man goes on a murderous rampage in a village, shoots two, leaves two injured and attempts to murder other residents, then he behaves like a superstar by posing for the media…that is wicked!

When a man rapes and murders an elderly woman – a senior citizen who was making a meaningful contribution to her community…that is wicked!

It is very sad and unfortunate that some members of the legal profession have such thwarted views regarding murder and the death penalty. They seem not to understand the distinction between murder and the divine instituted punishment for murder. To follow their up-side-down reasoning would lead to the eventual abolition of all just/quid pro quo punishment.

In last week’s edition of one of the weeky newspapers, an article captioned ‘Hanging is wicked, says Attorney’ appeared on the back page. In the article, well-known Attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne said that her extensive research has shown that “the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder.” After giving the account of a condemned murderer before he was hanged, and giving her own emotional experience as a witness of the hanging, she said ‘it is wicked, it is ancient…’ Lawyer Jomo Thomas in his column ‘Plain Talk’ also shared his belief that the death penalty is not a deterrent.

On consideration of the pieces by the two above mentioned lawyers, I conclude that either they are oblivious of certain truths or they are so ‘hardened’ that they refuse to be convinced. I wish to remind or to inform Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Bacchus-Browne et al of certain pertinent facts:

Fact #1

The death penalty is the God-ordained punishment for the crime of murder. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man”(Gen.9:6). God-the Creator is the One who has given us life. Hence, He has outlined that the just penalty for maliciously killing another with hatred is the DEATH PENALTY. The murderer forfeits his right to life when he takes the life of another.

Fact #2

Man is opposing God when he says that the death penalty does not deter. God explains the effect of the death penalty/punishment to deter potential murderers by stating in Deuteronomy that: “And those which remain shall hear and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil thing” God calls the crime evil or wicked NOT the penalty! We will be safer to trust the words of our Creator than to trust imbalanced research and twisted findings of some lawyers, psychologists etc. They are not the Almighty God and so they cannot read minds to know who has been deterred from committing murder owing to the existence of the death penalty. Interestingly, there exists research to show that imprisoned criminals confirmed that the death penalty deterred them from murdering (although we do not depend on such research to prove deterrence).

Fact # 3

Man is commanded in the Old Testament just as he is commanded in the New Testament to love and forgive. Man is instucted to love God and his fellowmen in both witnesses( see Lev. 19:18;Deut6:4,5 and Mat. 22:37-40). Love, forgiveness and mercy are not new. They do not replace just penalty either. There is no scripture in the New Testament to show that Christ replaced the death penalty for the crime of murder with forgiveness and redemption.

Fact #4

It is not the role of the state to forgive. All men have to go to God for forgiveness and redemption. And, yes, God forgives the murderer who repents. However, the murderer through the state must face the natural consequences of his murderous act. Governments were ordained to protect the Rights and freedoms of the citizens. They have a God-given duty to punish the evil doers – they ‘beareth not the sword in vain…a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.’ (see Romans 13:1-7)

The opponents of the death penalty need to know that love, mercy and justice are eternal

principles that cannot be separated. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He also declares a woe unto those who call good evil and evil good- who put light for darkness and darkness for light.

We must also have a sound mind and let our emotions flow from love for right and justice. Our sympathies ought to be on the side of the victim’s family not for the criminal who, by his own act, has shown himself unfitted to be a part of society.

Lord, help Attorney Kay Bacchus et al to recognise ‘wicked’ and reject it. Help them to defend your righteous principles that you have instituted to preserve society from further deterioration. Help them to use their influence to preach light and not darkness. Have mercy upon us all, LORD!

Ann-Marie Ballantyne

svgpatrot@hotmail.com