On Friday a Jury deemed that in the name of justice Lisa Montgomery should be sentenced to death for the horrific killing of 23 year old Bobbi Jo Stinnett. Of course this is not the end of the line for Montgomery, there will be many appeals, and thousands and thousands of dollars spent fighting to have her sentence reduced to life in prison. However this sentencing for a crime so close to home has brought up the morality of the death penalty here in Kansas again.
The murder of Bobbi Jo Stinnett was as heinous a crime as any. The fact that Lisa Montgomery then went on to cut her baby from her belly after strangling her makes it even worse. The evidence is air tight and Lisa Montgomery has confessed to the crime. But even with all that, is there any real justification for the death penalty? We know that the costs of execution are much higher than the costs of life imprisonment. We know that the death penalty has no effect in reducing crime.
So the question is this; is it ever really justice to kill? If you listen to the ravings of the religious right then it is not only justice to kill, but the deed should be done as quickly and brutally as possible. This may seem like a bizarre and hypocritical stand for the culture of life to take but they are always able to pick and choose bible verses to back up their beliefs. The most commonly recited is the ‘Eye for and Eye’ verse from Matthew 5:38-39 ..
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
No wait, that’s the wrong quote. See the problem with getting your morals from the Bible is that there is always another verse that says the exact opposite. Jesus absolutely would not approve of the death penalty. It does not relieve the grief, or reduce the loss for the victims families, and instead spreads the pain and loss to the innocent families of the executed. I for one say that our government should not become a vassal of vengeance for grief stricken families and blood thirsty neocons. I hope that in my lifetime I will see America join Canada and most European nations in banning this barbaric practice.
~ William ~
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2007-10-31 14:32:58
The death penalty is just in the case of Lisa Montgomery’s horrific crime of cutting a baby out of the mother’s womb. This resulted in the death of the mother. Sentencing should be proportionate to the crime so that it will be fair. And punishment is payback of a debt that the criminal owes when he perpetrates the crime. Nevertheless I understand your motive for lessening the penalty. You have compassion on the criminal and I do to. You want her to be punished, but your punsishment would be way short of death. And you view the death penalty as morally wrong. You see it as murder. You are cut to the heart when you think of extuinquishing someone’s life, even in a situation such as this. I can relate. I find it hard to kill a mouse in a mousetrap. So I don’t fault you for that.
Your quote of Jesus refers to a personal insult rather than a violent crime, or attempted murder. Jesus says to forgive when one is slapped or verbal assaulted.
Jesus is God. Anyway that is how the bible presents him. And Jesus talked alot about the punishment of the wicked in hell and the reward of the righteous in heaven. So he definitely has a high view on justice. Since He is God, he defines what is just and what is wicked. Additionally, the bible states that He is coming again to judge the world. And he will come with an army and destroy the wicked and save the righteous. So it would be more correct to say that he is a death penalty advocate. It may seem that he was more gentle when you pick out those verses. And you are right that he is gentle and forgiving. The rest of the story is He is coming again to pay back to wicked what is due them and to reward the righteous what is due them. I hope that makes some sense.