The death penalty has been back in the news, with word of a failed execution in Tennessee and discussion of how to proceed, not to mention the announcement that the firing-squad execution of a mass murderer will be live-streamed. And horrifying crime is again in the news after a jury failed to convince one holdout that it’s OK to strangle your three young children to death if you’re in the throes of postpartum depression.
I am never OK with the forcible taking of human life. I believe only God has the right to decide who’s to live and die. I know that’s a song lyric, not a Bible verse — even the Bible contends there’s “a time for war” — but despite all attempts at rationalization or justification, I abhor killing humans under all circumstances, and I especially don’t want government proclaiming that sometimes it’s appropriate.
I was horrified from the start by the Supreme Court’s decision that condoned the slaughter of unborn children, and when accused of hypocrisy I could honestly reply, “No, I DO also oppose the death penalty,” and for good measure I might mention that I don’t condone war, to boot.
And so when the state botched the execution of an evil murderer, I was saddened in part because the state proved to be incompetent at yet another task. I have a somewhat inhumane reason for opposing the death penalty — since I believe in heaven even for those who sincerely repent of their sins and present their lives to Jesus late in the game, I believe in denying them entry into heaven for as long as possible until God decides he’s good and ready to take that once-evil soul. That makes me a big fan of life without parole for the most heinous crimes.
I do hope never to second-guess a person who defends herself and causes the death of someone who wants to kill her, but I do regret whenever a human dies, even a deranged would-be killer.
But I will not second-guess a decision to put a bungie cord around the necks of three defenseless children and squeeze the life out of them. There is a woman who must be put away in a place where she can never harm another human. Don’t waste your time trying to tell me “what drove her to it.”
I surrender the burden of choosing who lives or dies to my Lord and my Redeemer. And so, here is another day that Lord has made, and off I go to rejoice.
