So you're a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no ...

Jordan, do you believe capital punishment is justly and even-handedly dispensed in this country?

Do you believe all life is precious and is a gift from God?

What do you think about those who have been put to death who, later, were found to have been not guilty of the crime they were convicted of (usually by DNA evidence)?

Do you have a means to keep these terrible injustices from happening?

And, if you support our present system of capital punishment, are you willing to "push the button" yourself? Are you willing to take the life of a person who may not be guilty of the crime he has been convicted of?

 

I asked "Jordan, do you believe capital punishment is justly and even-handedly dispensed in this country?"

You answered a question with a question. This is just a way to avoid answering the question. Also called a "cop out."

I asked "Do you believe all life is precious and is a gift from God?"

To which you replied:

I agree. But how do you know, for sure, the person is guilty of murder?

You are a bible believer. What is the biblical requirement for making a judgment? On the testimony of two or three people? 2 Corinthians 13:1 In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

So, did two or three people witness the murder?

I then asked, "What do you think about those who have been put to death who, later, were found to have been not guilty of the crime they were convicted of (usually by DNA evidence)?"

To which you said:

Sad? A man is killed unjustly and it just only "sad?" His wife is left a widow and it is only "sad?" He children are left fatherless and it is only "sad?" It is a tragedy! An innocent man is dead!

And I can't help but notice you did not answer the last two questions. Here they are again:

"Do you have a means to keep these terrible injustices from happening?"

What do you recommend to make such punishment just and even-handed?

And I also asked you:

"And, if you support our present system of capital punishment, are you willing to "push the button" yourself? Are you willing to take the life of a person who may not be guilty of the crime he has been convicted of?"

Are you so sure that you are willing to be the one who kills the man?

Jordan, don't get me wrong. I am neither attacking your nor attacking the biblical concept of capital punishment. But I am hoping to get you to think about how you actually feel about the subject. Carefully and prayerfully rethink everything you now believe about killing those who have been convicted of a capital offense (convicted justly or unjustly).

It never hurts to occasionally get away, take out our soul, and examine it for holes and other flaws.

 

Yes. It has not been proven to have happened in the US. But DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration and release of more than 17 death row inmates since 1992 in the United States.

And there are another 10 who were executed but probably innocent, although we don't know for sure.

But it has happened several times in the UK, Australia, China, etc.

I agree. Too random and much too arbitrary.

And I wouldn't want to push the button either, unless I personally had witnessed the crime and could find no mitigating circumstance to commute the sentence. But I would also take personal responsibility for my actions.

 

So you would be against the death penalty unless there were two or three eye witnesses who all told the same story?

 

It's good to see you are thinking about it. I agree that evidence other than eye witness can be very compelling. And I might vote for a capital sentence, were I on a jury hearing such a case, with less than two or three eye witnesses. As you mentioned forensics have come a long way. Blood spatter on the suspect places him at the scene, as do epithelial cells which can also provide DNA evidence.

Good discussion. It never hurts to rethink what we already think we know.