Can you be Pro Life and also believe in the death penalty?

Answer 1

Many people support the death penalty because of concerns that killers will be released into their communities and because they are not fully aware of the issues surrounding the death penalty. Here are answers to questions that people often ask about the system. They are all sourced, below.

What about the risk of executing innocent people?
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence, many having already served over 2 decades on death row.

Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?
DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.

Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?
No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. Homicide rates are higher in states that have it than in states that do not. Most killers don't think about the consequences anyway. They do not think they will be caught (if they think at all.)

Isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison. Much of the extra costs is due to the complicated nature of both the pre trial investigation and of the trials (involving 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases. There are more cost effective ways to prevent and control crime.

So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. Supermax prisons are terrible places to spend the rest of your life. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

What about the very worst crimes?
The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??

Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?
Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

So, why don't we speed up the process?
Many of the 123 innocent people released from death row had already been there for over 2 decades. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.

But don’t Americans prefer the death penalty as the most serious punishment?
Not any more. People are rethinking their views, given the facts and the records on innocent people sentenced to death. According to a Gallup Poll, in 2006, 47% of all Americans prefer capital punishment while 48% prefer life without parole. Americans are learning the facts and making up their minds using common sense, not eye for an eye sound bites.

Answer 2

It's a matter of guilt and justice when comparing the two issues. Unborn children have done nothing to deserve death, but those who are executed have been convicted of a serious crime. I think the real problem with the death penalty (in the U.S., anyway) isn't that death sentences are handed down, but that the appeals system has become so long and drawn out that there seems to be no connection between the crime and the punishment since so many people on death row are there 10-15 years before they are executed? Is the capital punishment system in this country flawed? Considering the number of innocent people who've ended up getting death or life without parole, I'd say so. Should we scrap the entire system? I don't think this would be the way to go, either. I do think that we need to demand that prosecutors allow all evidence that might exonerate a person of a crime. Likewise, we should give defendants a right to challenge the facts (or lack thereof) in their cases until reasonable doubt is gone, but we shouldn't let them keep appealing on minutiae that have little bearing on the outcomes of their cases.

But to answer your question, yes, I believe it is possible to be pro-life and believe in the death penalty.

Answer 3

i believe you can be i am pro life and as far as the death penalty goes i am on the fence but there is a difference the bay has not done anything wrong while person on death row probably has ( the biggest problem is that there is a chance there innocent) anyway yes you can be for one and against the other

Answer 4

Though, I not inclined to believe in the death penalty with so many people being freed from prisons with DNA evidence, I can see that the pro life movement is to protect innocent human life.

Answer 5

It's not a contradiction. Think about it this way: where the death penalty is concerned, the person has lived, made his own choices and is suffering the consequences of his actions. In the case of abortion, the person has no choices, has not lived, has made no actions to suffer the consequences of. The person's only crime was coming to a mother who didn't appreciate the gift that was given to her.

Having said all that, I will say this. While I am against abortion except in extreme medical emergencies, it is not my place to judge, or choose what someone else should or should not do with their children. It is not something I would ever consider, but then again, I don't have to worry about it either.

Answer 6

By giving someone the death penalty you are saying that they can't ever change - but people do change!
We don't have the authority to kill others, even if it is done in the name of "justice" - that is God's call. Our only concern should be that they are in jail and no threat to society.
If you would write to someone on death row, I will tell you that you will find that many are loaded with guilt, very remorseful for their actions. They are people like you and I who did terrible things. We should not judge people on their past actions.

Answer 7

An unborn child is without sin, deserves a chance to be born & a chance to live a Christian life. The unborns life decision is made by the mother & her doctor. In some cases, the mother must sacrifice her unborn to save her own life, in other cases the baby is an "accident" the mother should've prevented. If the child is born & grows into a theif, murderer, or other sinner, then punishment should be appropriate. Lethal injection of an adult is more humane than abortion of a baby or biblical stoning or crucifying of an adult. The condemned criminal gets their last rights, giving them a chance to be forgiven by God. The aborted baby nor the rejecting woman & her doctor do not get that.

Answer 8

No. Further I am pro life but pro choice. I don't think abortion is murder and God doesn't either if I'm interpreting this right but somewhere in Exodus I think it says that if two men are fighting and accidentally hurt a pregnant lady if it causes her to miscarry then the husband can make them pay money but if it kills her then the price is death.

Answer 9

Yes
It is a spectrum. On one end, you have the people who believe that killing anything, including animals is wrong. The other end are people who thing that killing unborn children is wrong, but euthanasia and other types of killing is not right.

You can believe that killing unborn babies is wrong and at the same time believe that some criminals deserve the death penalty. It just depends where you lie on the spectrum.

Answer 10

I'm willing to forgive someone for their beliefs if they did it with good intentions, but I fail to see how the death penalty could be with good intentions, even if it is political, it creates more tension than peace.