What about the man who did not shed blood, but was found guilty of shedding blood?
What about those innocent 'thousands extra' whose blood is shed when the death sentence is NOT imposed?
God and the Death Penalty
by Pastor Bob Enyart
"Jeffrey Dahlmer raped, killed and ate parts of at least thirteen men. As punishment, the government was planning
to feed, clothe, educate, medicate, entertain, and legally represent him for the rest of his life. Families of his victims would pay taxes, in part, to keep Dahlmer comfortable, warm in winter and cool in summer.
That type of punishment should scare the dickens out of other mass murderers. Interrupting the governments plans for Dahlmer however, an inmate beat the cannibal to death in prison.
Some oppose the death penalty on practical grounds, arguing that it is not a deterrent. However, the U.S. Supreme Court had reinstituted the death penalty in July of 1976 after having
struck down all state death penalty statutes almost exactly four years earlier.
During those four years without the death penalty there were about 12,000 more murders as compared to the four years prior to 1972,
an increase of 19 percent, and more than 10,000 additional families who had raised a child who then became a murderer.
In countries like Saudi Arabia, which enforce a swift and certain death penalty, violent crime is rare.
Singapore and Los Angeles have equivalent populations, yet in one year Singapore had 58 murders (most followed by swift execution) while Los Angeles had 1,063. Criminal sub-cultures like the Mafia show that the death penalty is a powerful deterrent even among career criminals, since few will ever double-cross their superiors, fearing the repercussions.
Others oppose the death penalty on moral grounds. The "morality" arguments of atheists are not persuasive because if there is no God, then there is no absolute morality, only arbitrary and subjective opinion. The anti-death-penalty morality arguments of some Christians, on the other hand, are persuasive to many. They base their arguments on statements made by Jesus Christ and therefore many listen attentively.
These "moral" opponents of the death penalty often intimidate good people into shying away from execution. Many Christians claim society should forgive criminals and instruct them to "go and sin no more." Ideas have consequences and the popularity of this idea parallels a huge sustained crime epidemic.
There is a right way to deter criminals and to end the crime epidemic. That deterrence, however, does not lie in telling Dahlmer to "go and eat no more.".."
