Is imposition of the death penalty a political/partisan matter or a religious/moral matter? Why is the death penalty largely being carried out in the South? Should Tennessee abolish the death penalty?

I will address the questions in the order given. First, the death penalty is a religious/moral matter which gets tangled up in the political and partisan. Second, the death penalty is part and parcel of old arcane laws that many white supremacists aimed at blacks. It’s the legal form of lynching. Third, yes Tennessee and every other state should abolish the death penalty.

However, you could have asked several more questions as well. For instance, why are more black and brown people on death row? Why do juries sentence more people of color to death more so than whites? Why are the overwhelming majority of people–whether black or white are on death row poor? Why do these defendants have inadequate counsel?

According to Michelle Alexander’s book the New Jim Crow, why have the courts; including the Supreme Court, all but eliminate “race” even if its proven, to be a viable defense? Why are many of the same people who are against a woman right to choose also for the implementation of the death penalty? Why haven’t “principled conservatives” come out against the death penalty because of its exuberant costs to states across the country? Why haven’t we believed the almost unanimous studies, statements, and scholarship which argue that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime at all? And most of all, why do Christians believe that the death of anyone else outside of Jesus would bring closure, peace, and satisfaction?

Well, many Christians do believe that Jesus would support the death penalty because he submitted to his own execution. But a word of caution. Remember when the “leading men” of one town brought the “adulterous woman” to Jesus for condemnation and death? He told them, “Okay, the one without sin cast the first stone.” So in that regard, I guess Jesus did approve use of the death penalty—but in order to carry it out, one must not have any sin. And for Christians, the only one who could have imposed the “death penalty” on the woman that day or any day—the one we believe did not have any sin, well, he did not.

Is imposition of the death penalty a political/partisan matter or a religious/moral matter? Why is the death penalty largely being carried out in the South? Should Tennessee abolish the death penalty?

The death penalty is more accepted in the South because Americans’ political positions are intertwined with their religious convictions. There are far more people with high views of biblical authority in Texas than in Massachusetts. Tennesseans are more likely than New Yorkers to know and embrace the historic Christian understanding of capital punishment.

Both the Old and New Testaments affirm the legitimacy of government-supervised capital punishment.

There are many examples from the Torah, but the most frequently quoted appears early in Genesis: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” (Genesis 9:6) Whether we like it or not, the explanation is clear. Humans are made in the image of God. Murdering a person who bears the image of God is a grave offense that warrants forfeiture of the killer’s life. Not only in ancient Israel, but also in the overwhelming majority of cultures worldwide, that duty has been performed by governments.

The classic New Testament passage is in the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans. His argument is similarly straightforward. God is the rightful ruler of the Universe and He has delegated part of His authority to human governments. Therefore, obeying governing authorities is a form of submission to God. Conversely, defying laws and leaders is rebelling against God. Some crimes are so severe they deserve death or “the sword”:

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:1 and 4)

Reflect on the fact that Paul wrote this as one under the exceedingly imperfect authority of the Roman empire–the empire that eventually exercised its capital punishment power by beheading him.

The philosophical and theological heavyweights of the Christian Church have consistently supported the limited use of state-directed capital punishment. Both Augustine (4th century) and Aquinas (13th), for example, unequivocally affirmed the death penalty. The same is true for John Calvin and Martin Luther. Even the Catholic Church, in its Vatican II documents, concedes the power of punishment, including the death penalty, to human governments.

There is a theological tradition of pacifism that foreswears all violence and killing inside both Protestantism and Catholicism. Those movements are relatively new, however, dating only to the late seventeenth century.

Is imposition of the death penalty a political/partisan matter or a religious/moral matter? Why is the death penalty largely being carried out in the South? Should Tennessee abolish the death penalty?

The death penalty is a justice issue. Only the poor and those with inadequate legal representation are sentenced to receive capital punishment. Innocent men and women have suffered. Our courts, legal system and police are not perfect. God is the giver of life and God is the ultimate judge, the death penalty should be abolished in Tennessee.

Is imposition of the death penalty a political/partisan matter or a religious/moral matter? Why is the death penalty largely being carried out in the South? Should Tennessee abolish the death penalty?

We all know that the death penalty is mentioned in the Bible on numerous occasions. However, the Talmud, the ancient Rabbinic writings, record that a court which administered the death penalty once in 7 years, some say once in 70 years, was considered a harsh court. The death penalty is a matter of last resort. It needs to be used sparingly. If since 1976, Tennessee has executed only 7 people, that sounds about right. In that same time, Texas has executed 481. Need I say that it would not necessarily have rabbinic approval?

Additionally, the premise of a society which carries out the most severe penalty in a state’s arsenal must be that we have an equitable society and court system. The authority of a court rests on the concept in Psalm 92, “G-d stands in the midst of the divine assembly, in the midst of the judges shall He judge.” Or, as Moses says to the judges (Deut. 1:17), “Judgement is for G-d.” If G-d sits among the judges, meaning that we have equitable societies, that we mete out justice with a sense of fairness, with a fear of heaven, or at least a sense of moral trepidation, then surely G-d stands in their midst. If judges are qualified and chosen in fair way, there is hope that G-d stands in their midst. If we find that only the poor die young, then perhaps it is not only our death penalty we need to re-examine but we need to take a deeper look at our entire societal structure.

There is a place for a death penalty. It reminds us of the gravity of certain crimes. Society should have red lines that cannot be crossed. However, the punishment must be meted out with extreme care, must be carried out very rarely, and we have to see to it that it is not just the fate of the poor.