Jesus overcame 'eye for an eye'

Friday, Nov. 07, 2014

What have you done today to fight for the abolition of the death penalty in Utah? What would our Pope, what would our Lord, say about the modern American practice of executing people without 100 percent certainty of guilt, and revenge as the only justification for doing so?  What would they think of Utah state Rep. Paul Ray’s proposal to bring back the firing squad?

These aren’t just random questions to ponder in a slow moment; Pope Francis has issued a challenge to Catholics regarding this issue. As he stated at a gathering of the International Association of Penal Law on Oct. 23, “It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital punishment to defend peoples’ lives from an unjust aggressor. … All Christians and people of good will are thus called today to struggle not only for abolition of the death penalty, whether it be legal or illegal and in all its forms, but also to improve prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons deprived of their liberty.” 

Our Pope has asked us to wake up our faith on many fronts, including the protection of all human life. He reminds us, as did his two most recent predecessors, that protection of life is not limited to the innocent.  

Debates among Catholics and other Christians about the death penalty often center on a few Biblical phrases, but cherry-picking quotes from the Bible far too often overlooks the context in which the passages were written. For example, the oft-quoted “eye for an eye” justification for use of the death penalty ignores the fact that imposition of the death penalty in Biblical times required the agreement of at least 23 judges and 100 percent certainty of guilt. “Eye for an eye” perhaps, but not if there were even a chance that a person was innocent.

If we do insist on strict adherence to a Biblical “eye for an eye,” however, we will also need to impose death for things such as blasphemy, disrespecting one’s parents, working on the Sabbath, false prophecies, being a rebellious son, and adultery. Further, we have to ignore the entire New Testament and Jesus’ clear messages of forgiveness and redemption. More importantly, the death penalty contradicts our belief that, by his death and resurrection, Jesus provided final atonement for all of us, eliminating any need for the Old Testament death penalty that was supposed to make final amends to God.

Then there is the reality of our modern system of death penalty “justice.” Consider just a few facts, all of which violate our Catholic beliefs in human dignity, the sanctity of life and preferential option for the poor: African Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population but 42 percent of death row inmates. More than 90 percent of death row inmates were not able to afford an attorney. Since 2000, 21 children have been executed in five countries: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Pakistan and the United States – which was responsible for putting to death 13 of these children. In short, our use of the death penalty is in direct opposition to our professed faith. 

As Archbishop Charles Chaput, a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, stated, “A culture ultimately defines its moral character by the value it places on each human life, particularly those lives that seem most burdensome, inconsequential, or unworthy.”  

The right to life is our most important human right, from both a civic and religious perspective.  It should be protected by the state in all areas where it has jurisdiction, including the ways it punishes criminals.  Where the state is not doing so, as in Utah, it is our obligation as Catholics to stand against state-sanctioned takings of human life.