Justice and the Death Penalty

Warning! This is a pretty serious subject for this blog. While I like to include some humor when possible, there is nothing humorous about the death penalty. The Birmingham News used to be a very conservative newspaper. I have read it daily since before I was a teenager. Even as a youngster, I would venture out of the comics and read the editorial page at times. Today the News carried another article on the op ed page against the death penalty. You will find many articles opposing the death penalty in the News now days, which would not have been the case in years gone by. The reasoning given in this article for opposing the death penalty was a common one and perhaps the most persuasive that opponents offer. That is that there are occasionally innocent people who are executed. Of course, we would never favor executing innocent people- who would? In truth, I am never in favor of anyone being executed. I would rather that we lived in a society where people were never killed at all and where there were no repeat offenders of violent crimes. But that is not reality.
This article showed its bias by not mentioning the fact that there are hundreds, even thousands of innocent people killed every year by murderers, who are never punished for their crimes. Why is there so much concern for the innocent person who is put to death with the death penalty, and so little concern for the victims of crime?
Here is my opinion- there is a failure on the part of many to understand the very principle of justice. Justice is what our whole “Criminal Justice” system is all about. Justice means that if someone commits a crime, there is a fair and just punishment given for that crime. IT MUST NOT BE A CRUEL AND UNREASONABLE PENALTY OR IT IS NOT JUST! BUT IT MUST BE A PUNISHMENT THAT FITS THE CRIME, OR JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED!
God is always fair in his justice. Speaking of murder, God’s word says, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13- NKJV). We can likely agree that murder should be punished, but what is a fair punishment? A just God’s answer is found in the very next chapter, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:12).
Much more can be said on this subject, but the basic principle of justice is that one must pay a price that is in keeping with the damage he has done. The death penalty is a just penalty for crimes that take innocent lives. Speaking of the government, in Romans 13:4, Paul said, “For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” The government is in the punishment business. It should do its job faithfully and fairly.
Frankly, I am glad that I am not in this business. I am in the business of showing men how they can receive forgiveness from the almighty God for the sins that they have committed. Thank God, Jesus paid the price for our sins. If we will have faith in Him (John 8:24), turn from our sins (Acts 2:38), confess Him (Romans 10:10), and be baptized into Christ (Acts 22:16), we will never have to pay the eternal penalty for our sins, because Jesus, an innocent man, died on the cross to pay for your sins and mine.