Every evening when we sit back on our sofas and relax, we watch TV. Many of the shows depict violent action. We watch as people are murdered, but we find it exciting and are entertained. What would the consequences be if some of these episodes were moved into real life? A verdict can be very strict, the most cruel verdict of all. Murderers can be charged with the death penalty. Nowadays we have a conflict on this basis. Should one be condemned to death or get a life sentence? If it’s the second option is that really enough punishment?

Those who stand for the death penalty always use the famous Bible Old Testament quotation “An eye for an eye.” They also refer to the Bible reciting one of the Ten Commandments “Thou shalt not kill”, and the punishment is therefore death. Revenge is a powerful motivator to take actions. Understandably, a person who has had a relative murdered wants the perpetrator to suffer as much as their beloved has.

The ‘Death Penalty’ was widely used in the past and for different purposes. For example you were beheaded for stealing cattle during the Frankish Empire; you could be tortured and killed for betrayal in Old England, and you could be fed to the dogs for killing a lord in Old Germany and so on. There are hundreds of examples of retaliatory sentences. The question I ask is: Do we possess the authority of God to take somebody’s life even if he/she took somebody else’s? Are we to judge other people?

Jesus, in the New Testament, preached love. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you,” (Luke 6:27-28) and, we are to “turn the other cheek” when we have been struck. (Matt. 5:39)

Nowadays saying “An eye for an eye” is old-fashioned and out of touch with present times. You would not kill a cat because he accidentally scratched you. We live in a democratic, free state where everybody is equal before the law and have to behave as such. In Europe there is no country left where the death penalty still exists. Not that long ago, Europe was eager to execute anybody and everybody who went against the law. The ways to punish became milder, easier, and faster. Step by step, the death penalty was cancelled because of victory of humanism over revenge. There is no Death Penalty here in the Cayman Islands although it remained in the statute book up until 1991.

The United States remains in the minority of nations in the world that still uses death as penalty for certain crimes. Other countries are China, Japan and many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, plus some African states. Many see the penalty as barbaric whilst others see it as a very important tool in fighting violent pre-meditated murder. In the USA there are two recent incidents which have once again brought this issue to national debate. One is the release of some highly publicised studies that show a number of innocents had been put to death. If DNA testing had been carried out, they would have been found innocent. The second is the issue of terrorism and the need to punish its perpetrators.

A popular bumper sticker says, “We kill people to show people that killing people is wrong.” The slogan is wrong because the Death Penalty does not punish people for killing but only for murder.

If it is morally wrong to rape rapists, is it acceptable to execute murderers? The answer there is easy. If you rape a rapist it does not stop him raping again. You kill a murderer he will not do it again. If killing someone is wrong then killing in self-defense is also wrong. Are then police officers guilty in killing attempted murderers to save a victim’s life?

Is it wrong to just lock someone up for murder? He gets a life sentence in an air conditioned cell, free meals three times a day, personal recreation time and regular visits from friends and family. The way things are going the human rights commissions will see that all prisons are actually a very nice place to go. Then there is the argument to re-educate our murderers and turn them into civilised members of our society. Of course, that is at the tax payer’s expense – us, including the relatives of the person the prisoner murdered.

Is the Death Penalty applied fairly? Many say it isn’t. If this is the case then this argument applies to all sentences.

What is my view? I am not God and I would never dare play God. Have any of you read the Apocryphal Book of Judith? Judith murdered a terrorist in his sleep because he had murdered hundreds of people and was going to rape her, give her to his men for their pleasure and then have her killed. The terrorist (Holofernes) did not know she knew this and she had prayed to God to give her a lying tongue to deceive him before he did this to her and the strength to kill him by decapitating him with his own sword. God granted her prayer.

Never let it be forgotten. If no one murders there is no Death Penalty to carry out.