But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 9, 2012): Exodus 21

I am not a supporter of the death penalty in most circumstances, and it is partly because of the intense value that I place on life. It just seems wrong to take a life, no matter what the reason. But that is only part of the reason. It seems to me that capital punishment has been applied to a number of inappropriate crimes over the history of mankind. And often it was a penalty that was only applied to people outside of the ruling culture. That has been the argument against the death penalty in North America in recent years. It just seems to detractors of capital punishment that there has been a higher percentage of minorities that have found their way to death row than probability would allow. It is a justice question that we have to come to terms with.

In the past, capital punishment has been used to remove unwanted population elements, as a solution for political opposition, and as the penalty for a number of sexual crimes. It has been used as the penalty for religious apostasy and in some cases for stealing and cowardice. But the question is – which are the crimes that are worthy of the death penalty.

And that is the question that Mosaic laws sought answer. In the case of serious crimes, the penalty would be limited by the infraction. It was a way of making sure that the punishment truly fit the crime. It did not necessarily mean that the maximum penalty would have to be applied, but it could not be exceeded. And in an imperfect world, it was the start of a plan in regard to criminal punishment.

I am not a supporter of the death penalty, but it is not that I do not believe that some crimes deserve the penalty. In extreme cases, death may be warranted. But my problem is that I am not always sure that we really know what happened. And as long as there is the slightest doubt (and unless there is a solid confession from the perpetrator, there is always a measure of doubt) then the penalty just is not worth it. For me, if there is the risk of even one innocent person to be executed, then the risk is too great. And as a Christian, I have the added responsibility grace.

In practice, Mosaic Law was intended to provide the framework for our criminal punishment. But grace has always been at its heart. The punishment for crime, if possible, should never preclude the chance of future grace. Sometimes death is necessary, but when it is not, then grace can somehow be extended.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 22