God’s Position on Execution

We have been where they are and have vacated their vacuous positions for the real and only truth.  Carnaldom is blind to that which is true and eternal; bound by the vapor they fall life.  Those who have not made Jesus Christ the center of their universe have no real purpose past this vanity.  They have five basic thoughts and wants:

1. I want a long healthy life.

2. I want an attractive, attentive mate.

3. I want to be independently secure and even wealthy, which of course includes plenty of good food. 

4. I want healthy, successful children.

5. I want to indulge myself in the pleasures of the flesh, and oh yes, I want to go to heaven if there is one.

Those who are not BORN-AGAIN have a vision that ends on this earth.  But, of the born-again, eternity can be seen through their eyes.  Variations of the five wants listed are common to saved and unsaved alike, but a real believer has eternal purpose.  That purpose is to evolve into the pure image of Jesus Christ and stand on this earth before the sons of men and call them unto repentance, salvation, and like common purpose.  Through a believer’s eyes, you can see eternity.  If you are not yet BORN-AGAIN and are interested in a life that is comprise of more than you and yours, if you want a life that is more than your clothes and your supper plate, then let today be the day of your salvation.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  Why are you hesitating?  Do it now!  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Ecclesiates 8:11:

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

GOD SAID, Exodus 20:13:

Thou shalt not kill.

GOD SAID, Genesis 9:6:

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

MAN SAID: According to former California Governor Pat Brown, Sr., “The principle fact is that the death penalty has been a gross failure.  Beyond its horror, it has neither protected the innocent nor deterred the wicked.”

Now THE RECORD.  There are several subjects on this website dealing with God’s position on crime and punishment.  They are listed as follows:

A World Flooded With Perjury

God Said Capital Punishment

Q&A, Should a Christian Take Up Arms?

The Perfect Penal System

Does God support capital punishment in the New Testament?  The answer is yes.  This feature article will address some new research just released concerning the death penalty.  It will also cite new research that verifies the perfect wisdom of Ecclesiastes 8:11.

A brief review of “God Said Capital Punishment” follows:

When God says “Yes,” you can be certain that the champions of disobedience will say “No,” and so it is concerning the matter of capital punishment.  In 1972, capital punishment was banned in the United States but reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.  During the abolishment of the death penalty in the U.S., the murder rate increased 100%.  Human Events published the following statement by J.L. Jones:

“The idea that capital punishment ‘deters no one’ does not explain the rapid rise of homicides in America while the death penalty was virtually outlawed.  Deterrent or not, it effectively eliminates the possibility of a repeat crime.”  [End of quote]

Concerning repeat crimes, the following excerpt is from the 1988 Standard Law Review:

“Of the roughly 52,000 state prison inmates serving time for murder in 1984, an estimated 810 had previously been convicted of murder and had killed 821 persons following their previous murder convictions.  Executing each of these inmates would have saved 821 lives.”  [End of quote] 

God’s commandment for capital punishment is correct.

The uninformed and those who simply contend that capital punishment is valueless (because God commanded it) continue to claim it is not a deterrent.  This is in the face of considerable information to the contrary.

In Human Events, M.S. Evans said, “Nearly all the evidence we have shows capital punishment is a general deterrent to deadly crime...”

The State of Delaware executes more people per capita than any other state in the union and has a murder rate one sixteenth that of Washington D.C., which has the highest violent crime rate in America.

The following paragraph was found in the book, Capital Punishment:

“In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court argued for both sides of the issue.  In Gregg v. Georgia, the high court took the position that we may “assume safely that...the threat of death has little or no deterrent effect (on murderers) who act in passion.”  But for murders that were well thought out, “the death penalty is...a significant deterrent.”  [End of quote]

One particular study shows that convicted criminals, at a ratio of five to one, believe that the death penalty would deter them from murdering their victims.

The following passage is from a paper prepared by Dudley Sharp, titled, “Death Penalty and Sentencing Information In the United States:”

“The most conclusive evidence that criminals fear the death penalty more than life without parole is provided by convicted capital murderers and their attorneys.  99.9% of all convicted capital murderers and their attorneys argue for life, not death, in the punishment phase of their trial.  When the death penalty becomes real, murderers fear it the most.”  [End of quotes]

Opponents to capital punishment are on the defensive due to recent research.  The following AP paragraphs are from June 2007, under the heading, “Studies: Executions deter murderers:”

The reports have horrified death penalty opponents and several scientists, who vigorously question the data and its implications.

So far, the studies have had little impact on public policy.  New Jersey’s commission on the death penalty this year dismissed the body of knowledge on deterrence as “inconclusive.”

But the ferocious argument in academic circles could eventually spread to a wider audience, as it has in the past.

FOR EXAMPLE:

“Science does really draw a conclusion.  It did.  There is no question about it,” said Naci Mocan, an economics professor at the University of Colorado at Denver.  “The conclusion is there is a deterrent effect.”  A 2003 study he co-authored, and a 2006 study that re-examined the data, found that each execution results in five fewer homicides, and commuting a dearth sentence means five more homicides.  “The results are robust, they don’t really go away,” he said.  I oppose the death penalty.  But my results show that the death penalty (deters)—what am I going to do, hide them?”

Statistical studies like his are among a dozen papers since 2001 that capital punishment has deterrent effects.  They all explore the same basic theory—if the cost of something (be it the purchase of an apple or the act of killing someone) becomes too high, people will change their behavior (forego apples or shy from murder).

To explore the question, they look at executions and homicides, by year and by state or county, trying to tease out the impact of the death penalty on homicides by accounting for other factors, such as unemployment data and per capita income, the probabilities of arrest and conviction, and more.

AMONG THE CONCLUSIONS:

• Each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory University.  (Other studies have estimated the deterred murders per execution at three, five and 14).

• The Illinois moratorium on executions in 2000 led to 150 additional homicides over four years following, according to a 2006 study by professors at the University of Houston.  [End of quote]

God said, man said—now you have the record.

Because God’s Word, written thousands of years ago, is the inerrant absolute truth, those disregarding His dictums will suffer the consequences of doing it wrong, which bears deadly fruit.  The American penal system is an example of doing it wrong.  And what about Ecclesiastes 8:11?

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Could the Bible be correct again?  The last paragraph in the AP article agrees.  It reads:    

Speeding up executions would strengthen the deterrent effect.  For every 2.75 years cut from time spent on death row, one murder would be prevented, according to a 2004 study by an Emory University professor.  [End of quote]

God’s Word is true and righteous altogether.  This is just one more proof that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.  Embrace the truth and we’ll have life, and we’ll have it more abundantly.

GOD SAID, Ecclesiates 8:11: