Protesters held a silent vigil outside the State Capitol in Olympia, WA in opposition to the execution of Cal Brown, who brutally raped and murder a young woman who had not even reached her twenty-first birthday, nearly twenty years ago. Opponents of this form of capital punishment carried signs which read: that it is state-sponsored execution, it doesn’t deter crime, it doesn’t provide healing and closure for the victim’s loved ones, and it leaves other families [besides the victim’s] grieving, too. While this type of response might be expected from some citizens, it is a little surprising to see Christians among the group because God ordained it in the very Bible they read from each Sunday.
In fact, when God did not personally punish someone for a serious crime [sin], the people were commanded by God to carry out the death sentence themselves. This principal is actually at the heart of the matter because any sin or offense [criminal act] was not a judgment upon just the individual, but upon the entire community or nation. There were instances where an offender paid financial restitution, sacrificed a peace offering to God, or paid the ultimate penalty, “Their very life!” It would be interesting to find out how many people would be against the Death Penalty for the commission of a capital offense if everyone had to suffer, because the punishment for it was not carried out speedily, or it was delayed for years due to the judicial appeals process.
NOTE: Read in the Bible Exodus 31: 14; Numbers 15: 32-36; Romans 13: 1-2, 5 for further consideration.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
September 10, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com
