How many of you who support Capital punishment are religious people?

Question

So many of the the people on Y!A espouse a devotion to Christianity, how many of you support the death penalty?

What about devout followers of other religions?

Answer 1

Hard question to answer. Good question, though; very thought provoking. I like to consider myself a religious person, but I need to start by telling that although I am very religious and I believe in God, and say my prayers, do unto others etc., I have recently become conflicted with my religious preference. I was born to an episcopalian mother (not very religious) & a Jewish father. My mom did not convert to Judiasim, but my father's first wife did. As a child we atttended Hebrew school & Sunday School, I choose Chrisitanity. I am now married to a Jewish man 20 years my senior. His first wife converted and raised there three kids in the Jewish faith, his second wife did not convert and thier young child is being raised w/ much religious influence at all. Neither my dad nor my hubbie are conservative jews, therefore the faith does recognize children of converted mothers as Jewish.

I am having conflicting toughts in m mind about Judiasm & Chrsitianity (but that is not the question)

Iam also a former Prosecutor. I prosecuted for 18 years and for the last ten (until December of last year) I prosecuted ONLY Captial crimes, those cases punishable by lethal injection or life in prision.

I campaigned as a strict advocate for the death penalty & I do beleive that if it is used the way it intended & reserved for only those who commmitt the most heinous crimes IE Torture + Rape + murder or murder of children
then it serves its purpose. I have to admit that I have developed conflicting views on the death penalty n the past five or six years (but it has nothing to do with religion).

I live in a state where live really means life. Life is without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, therefore if a 22 year old man is convicted of murder and he is sentenced to life in prison- HE WILLL GO TO ANGOLA AND STAY THERE UNTIL HE DIES. (absent a pardon from the gov. which has not happened since our great gov., Edwin Edwards (now in fed prison), has any other Gov. ever granted a pardon. I am beginning to believe that in states where life is really life (not in those states where you are sentenced to life, but are somehow eleigibale for parole in 20 years) but when we know that the culprit will die in prison, and believe me by the time most of the ole timers die, most of their family has already died or long since stopped visiting them, when they do die they have only their inmate friends to attend their funeral, they are burried in an unmarked grave on the grounds at Angola .

I have started to believe that rehabilitation is possible in some cases (very few) b/c our prisons are not designed , contrary to public policy, to prepare long term inamtes for the outside world. But the young offenders who make a terrible mistake, i do beleive so,metimes cna change, can learn, can devlop into prosuductive memebers of sociery, if and only if we get them young & they want to reform. For those young kids, it is a catch 22, they work so hard to better themselves, but for what??? They really have no incentive to do so , b/c they know that life mens life. they eiher receive the death penalty where they normally remain on death row for 10-17 years before being executed. Somertimes people do deserve a secnd chance, dependng on the circumstances. I am conflicted as I said.

have no problem what so ever seeking the death penalty for a monster who has commtted heious acts of murder without any remorse. I strenuanly argue my postition to the jury, to return the only verdict that is jsut and fair, to return the verdict of death by lethal injection.

with the rising murder rate in my state, i fail to see that the death penaalty serves a a deterent, which was one of the primary reasons I support the death penalt, but it is not working

Answer 2

I'm a Chrisitian, and am comflicted about the death penalty. Many of the people on death row have been convicted of doing terrible things, but I still feel that a human life is still precious - even if it is a murderer. As a Christian, I feel that God will bring about the ultimate judgement and punishment. I do think these people should be locked up for life, however. Then, there is also the reality of people being convicted of crimes they didn't committ, how horrible would it be to put to death a innocent person? In a nutshell, I don't think it is ever right to take a life.

Answer 3

My personal belief is to let God do the punishment. I think that the "Correctional Facilities" (aka Jail) is broke ... I think the legal process is broke ... and we should find ways to correct rather than punish. However, I'm also a wimpy and practical giraffe who doesn't want to live near a "Jeffrey Dommer" ... "Ted Bundy" ... “Joey Buttafuoco’s / Amy Fisher‘s” … “O.J. Simpsons” … “Michael Jackson’s” … or any other psycho killers/ rapists / child molesters/ pedophiles/ druggies/ thieves ... That's a dream here on Earth in our present state. Since God gave us "Free Will" well we as a society need to find ways to reform these harmful cancer personalities into socially reasonable people who won’t harm us all.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent." "

Answer 4

I am and I do..."Execution was given theological justification, both in the Old & New Testament. The Pentateuchal rationale for capital punishment was not basically in terms of societal order, and thus modern utilitarian values (e.g., does it deter?) have no bearing on the validity of the biblical attitude toward the penalty even though the Bible states it does deter (Deuteronomy 19:20; also see: Eccles. 8:11). The motive for capital punishment was not human desire for vengeance (retribution), and thus modern theological abolitionists on that basis cannot criticize it. There is not a verse in the Bible in either the Old or New Testament that overtly departs from the consensus on the topic. There are no theological stances in either testament (be they forgiveness of enemies, love, non-vengeance, etc.) that may be taken as an implicit challenge to capital punishment. The Bible distinguishes killing in battle, or in self-defense, or in accident, or as execution, from murder and negligent homicide (which alone merit execution).

Some Christians pretend that Jesus Christ broke with the traditions of the Old Testament or take the position that he replaced it, but this couldn't be further from the truth as Jesus himself explained during the Sermon on the Mount. This would also include capital punishment, they say, which was repeatedly sanctioned in the Old Testament. Christ said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Answer 5

I am a Christian AND Pro Life.
I completely support Capital Punishment.
I am against destroying INNOCENT life, the lives of our unborn children in the name of "choice". Abortion is responsible for eliminating over 440 MILLION American citizens ALL of them innocent, helpless, voiceless and executed for convenience, selfishness and discrimination (downs syndrome is a big target for those working in abortion, mixed race children, immigrant children, children being born to "poor" mothers SINCE WHEN did being rich guarantee anyone ever of being loving parents or being poor doesnt?)
It is not sinful to take the lives of murderers, rapists, child molesters-etc.
HOWEVER through Jesus Christ ANY OF OUR LIVES can be redeemed. There is an old Bluegrass Gospel song verse "Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean."
It may be our duty as mortal men and women to place judgment and sentence on others for their crimes (God judges our sins) BUT nothing, no sin, is too great to be cleansed in Christ's name.
thanks for the question

Answer 6

How many nonreligious people who are against capital punishment have had a loved one brutally murdered by someone and then have to pay taxes to keep him alive for life?

Answer 7

Too bad you can't ask Judge Roy Bean...I don't think he was religious.

I think that it might be interesting to study lawless uncivilized societies vs. civilized productive societies and to see who instituted capital punishment. I don't see how saying that taking someones life for taking someone else's is taking another innocent life. I think that people relinquish certain rights when they violate laws of nature notwithstanding the laws of civilized society. If a murderer knows they are definitely going to die for taking another life, this is most certainly a deterrent. I think rapists, drug dealers, pedophiles should die for their crimes. Even though they don't actually kill their victims, they kill their life.

Answer 8

Agnostic here. Capital punishment is the way to go. We don't have money to pay for criminals to live in prison for the rest of their lives. Killing them off save the State tax money.

Answer 9

the bible supports the death penalty. It also supports war.
so my words...fry the mothers!!!!