Maryland to consider abolishing capital punishment
In a state whose electorate encouraged lawmakers to consider reinstating the ultimate sentence last November, it gives me hope reading about the Hard Line State’s progress toward ending this cruel and unusual punishment.
It’s just simply sad that it takes a botched execution in Florida to prompt a rethinking of a punishment which has been outdated since medieval times. It’s not just — in fact, the death penalty is the polar opposite of real justice, it is retribution. The proponents argue it deters crime: show me evidence of this claim. I don’t understand how a killer’s mind works, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t worried about the possibility of dying since chances are they’re at a higher risk of dying committing the actual act.
From a religious standpoint, it should be abhorrent to all Christians. Those who argue eye for an eye had better pick up their New Testament and reevaluate the passages from Christ where he commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to save judgment for God the Creator, and be in constant service to the poor and oppressed.
Capital punishment is wrong. Period. End of discussion. For those who would argue, “Well what if someone killed your family,” I respond you don’t know me very well. (And you might be interested in reading this column by my colleague and office neighbor.)
The world is looking with a more skeptical eye at the death penalty following the botched executions in Iraq. We can’t do anything about anyone but ourselves, and it’s time to finally be a true leader and shore up our domestic policy against senseless, state-sanctioned violence at home.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
Daniel Ross-Jones serves as Minister for Youth & Young Adults at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, United Church of Christ. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area for a time still measured in months, he is frequently getting lost and discovering treasures of a landscape very different from his Upper Midwestern roots. Green Jello Hotdish is a blog exploring the intersections of his days. 
