There continues to be an ongoing debate as to the justification of capital punishment. Following the principle, “May the punishment fit the crime”, governments continue to use it for more extreme criminals; however, despite its use, this revengeful attitude is immoral. Although capital punishment is common practice in America, as many Americans depict the act as justified, the death penalty is an immoral act that contradicts Christian orthodoxy, fails to fulfill its one obligation (catharsis), and cruelly forces the criminal to await their death in a cell for years on end.
The true evil of capital punishment lies in the criminal's wait in jail until the their execution date. H.L. Mencken states, “it is one thing to die, and quite another thing to lie for long months and even years under the shadow of death”. Capital punishment is truly and brutally immoral. One might defend this wait through the argument that the criminal has time to make peace with God however this argument is not valid because God is not restricted by any “temporal limitations”; meaning that a criminal could just as easily receive forgiveness from God in one second of prayer as he could four years of waiting in a cell.
Capital punishment is additionally wrong because it does not provide the catharsis that one seeks. In In Cold Blood, even Dewey, one who pushed the punishment the most, showed some remorse in the end. Dewey had hoped to feel a sense of completeness after their hanging but does not; he could not even watch Perry Smith being killed because even he had some sympathy for him. Capote sheds light to the fact that capital punishment is not only unchristian, it is brutal and unsatisfying to those who are closely connected to the crime. While it may be seen as the more humane form of punishment, it fails to provide the sense of catharsis that individuals desire. In essence, capital punishment is immoral.
Christian orthodoxy has been used to both defend and refute the concept of capital punishment, however the Bible’s argumentation for capital punishment is much weaker than its argument against it, thus proving that through Christian orthodoxy, capital punishment in unjust. As written in the Old Testament, capital punishment was common practice in ancient Israel. The book of Exodus states, “If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound” (New International Version Ex. 21.32-25). Revenge if lawful. It is argued that since God permitted the death penalty for the Israelites, it is permitted for society today. However, to any Christian, the New Testament is said to be God’s fulfillment of the Old Testament, and it is in turn the final say of God’s word. The theme of the New Testament is unconditional forgiveness that God gives to individuals because he is merciful. The book of Matthew says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt. 5.7). As receivers of this grace, it is the Christian’s obligation to return this grace to others. Thus, capital punishment contradicts the merciful character that God orders Christians to follow.
To conclude, capital punishment is unjust because it cruelly makes the criminals await their knowingly coming death for years, fails to fulfill the one things that it is said to provide, catharsis, and most shockingly contradicts Christian morals that seem to be so prevalently believed in this nation. Today, Christian Americans are inconsistent in their beliefs as one one hand they accept God’s mercy, but then are unwilling to other’s who are also in need of it. Even if the criminal, does not even want mercy or does not even see the fault in their own sin, it is not the individual’s job to make such a determination. If Americans are truly Christian, they would not be so quick so accept capital punishment as the answer. It can be easy to judge others as it can deter one away from their own faults but, if each individual were to search inside oneself, they would realize that everyone is in need of mercy no matter how great or little because, as Christians, everyone is a sinner saved by grace.
