Do Texans really believe God wants them to execute people?

Question

Like his predecessor, Governor Perry is a devout Christian, highlighting one key factor in Texas' enthusiasm for the death penalty that many outsiders find puzzling -- the support it gets from conservative evangelical churches.

This is in line with their emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own salvation, and they also find justification in scripture.

"A lot of evangelical Protestants not only believe that capital punishment is permissible but that it is demanded by God. And they see sanction for that in the Old Testament especially," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070812/lf_nm/texas_executions_dc

Answer 1

The OT is a book of convenience for them. They say that the NT overrides the old law except for those behaviors they need justification for. A convenient hypocrisy.

Answer 2

Texans have had no alternative to the death penalty for keeping really brutal criminals off the streets for good. It is hard to believe that Texans are any more enthusiastic for the death penalty than other Americans. Now that their state has life without parole on the book, Texans can join the national discussion about the death penalty. Here are answers to questions about its practical aspects, with sources listed below.

What about the risk of executing innocent people?
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence.

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. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in states that do not.

So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

But isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, mostly because of the legal process. Anytime the death penalty is a possible sentence, extra costs start to mount up even before a trial, continuing through the uniquely complicated trial (actually 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases, and appeals.

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?
Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.

Answer 3

This is in line with their emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own salvation, and they also find justification in scripture."

I don't know how the two are linked together since the Bible teaches that God is the one who saves people, but it also teaches that God has ordained for humans to execute his judgment on murderers in bot the old and new testaments.

Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Answer 4

It does not have anything to do with God as to why I believe in the death penalty. God never entered into it.

Why do California juries find in favor of criminals suing the owners of the house they were robbing when they get locked in their garages during the robbery, or other such examples?

edit: aren't I the popular one with California residents. anyone anywhere beaks into my home, the courts will not have anything to judge over except my right to defend self and property, justifiable homicide sanctioned by the right to defend personal property and the right to bear arms - load the shot gun baby!!!

Answer 5

Yes, the x-tain ones do but I'm sure not all of them feel that way.