Tough Issues: What About Capital Punishment?

Dr. Jim Wilson, January 20, 2008
Text: John 8:1-11

Wednesday afternoon I was working on this sermon as I sat in a waiting room on the first floor of the Charlton Building at Rochester Methodist Hospital. Char was having a PET scan. About a half-hour into my wait, an elderly gentleman sat down next to me. We exchanged greetings. I soon realized he was quite anxious. I felt compelled to offer some pastoral care. I introduced myself and the conversation began. He was a semi-retired farmer from western Iowa. His wife of nearly fifty-five years was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We talked about lymphoma, doctors, treatments, hopes and fears. Then he noticed the stack of several articles on Capital Punishment I had been reading and asked, “Are you a teacher?” I replied, “Well, yes, I do teach.” He looked rather puzzled. I added, “I am a United Methodist pastor.” “Oh,” he said, “what are you doing with all those articles?” “I’m working on the sermon for Sunday,” I responded, “I am preaching about our faith and Capital Punishment. It’s part of a series on what I’ve called, ‘Tough Issues.’” “Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” he asked. I answered, “Well, it certainly can be. But then the Gospel can be rather dangerous!” He laughed and said, “I guess that is true.” When Char joined us, I introduced her to John. As we left, he waved and said, “I hope you don’t get into trouble on Sunday!”

Without question, Capital Punishment is a volatile issue. Emotions for and against the death penalty run deep. Politicians realize this and love to tell us that they “are tough on crime” while their opponent is “soft.” Witness Mitt Romney’s recent charges against Governor Huckabee. Capital Punishment is a tough issue on the world stage as well. Ever since its Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966, the United Nations has encouraged its members to abolish the death penalty. Likewise, the European Parliament in 2003 rejected Capital Punishment as an “inhumane, medieval form of punishment and unworthy of modern societies.” Our own Supreme Court has bounced around on the issue, ruling Capital Punishment unconstitutional in 1972 (Furman v. Georgia) and then reversing itself in 1976 after some reforms (Gregg v. Georgia). Since that date, one researcher reports that over 850 persons have been executed, and the rate has accelerated in the past 10 years. On the other hand, recent use of DNA to establish the innocence of several death row inmates has awakened public opinion against Capital Punishment. It is a tough issue. On the one hand most of us are angered and disgusted with the brutality and violence of a Jeffrey Dahmer or a John Wayne Gacy or drug dealers who prey on kids, or the gang bangers whose bullets take innocent lives. On the other, as disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to live a different ethic, to move from a world of violence and death to a world marked by grace and transformation. Personally, Capital Punishment is one tough ethical issue.

Over the years, the UMC has struggled with Capital Punishment. I remember “red hot” debates that raged at Annual Conference. I also remember similar volatile arguments at General Conference in 1988, ’92, and ’96. Those debates were every bit as divisive and acrimonious as our current struggle with homosexuality. The present statement found in our Social Principles is the result of those debates. It is, as we say, what it is---the conclusion reached by 1000 United Methodists, equally divided between laity and clergy. It may or may not reflect your position. I would call your attention to the basic premise of our church’s position. We oppose Capital Punishment because it denies the power of the grace of Jesus Christ to transform, redeem, and reconcile a person. We do not condone crime. Nor do we ignore the pain and suffering victims and their families endure. We do believe that all of life is sacred, even the life of the most despicable criminal. We believe no government should eliminate the possibility of that life being transformed. Now whether you agree with that conclusion or not, I would challenge you to form your opinion after a serious engagement with the Gospel and the power of the gracious love of Christ Jesus, a gracious love we see challenging the cultural norms and even the Law in our text for this morning.

Before turning to the text itself, let me offer a quick disclaimer. I am not suggesting that Jesus or John intended this story to be a statement on Capital Punishment. I am suggesting that Jesus’ action does give us some insight into his regard for those condemned to death. A woman who has been caught in the very act of adultery is brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees. After reminding him of the punishment required by Mosaic Law, both in Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Lev 20:10; Deut. 22:21), they ask Jesus for a judgment. He quickly realizes this is a trap. If he agrees that she should be put to death, he is in violation of Roman Law, for only the Roman authorities can pronounce the death penalty. If, however, he does not judge her worthy of death, he contradicts the Hebrew Law. John tells us Jesus bends down and starts to write in the dirt with his finger. What does he write? Many conjectures have been offered---the sins of the accusers, a possible sentence, the role of the husband in all this??? Perhaps, there is a more simple answer. In the Mediterranean world of Jesus’ day, his action would have been understood as his refusal to be engaged, a refusal to respond to the question as it has been posed. This interpretation finds credibility in what he says. He looks at those gathered and says, “ Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he returns to his doodling in the dirt.

Slowly the crowd dissipates until only Jesus and the woman are left. He straightens up and says to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she responds. Jesus replies, “Neither do I. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” Jesus does not condone the woman’s behavior. Yet, he offers her God’s forgiveness, that forgiveness that sets her free not just from punishment but for a new life. Such is the power of the Gospel to move us from a world of vengeance and death to a world of freedom and grace I believe Jesus’ response offers us some insight with regard to our stance on Capital Punishment.

Capital Punishment is a complex issue. That is one of the messages of the movie, THE GREEN MILE. THE GREEN MILE is based on a novel by Stephen King about E-Block, death row, at the Coal Mountain Louisiana State Penitentiary. The film portrays the struggle of good and evil and the possibility of redemption in a setting dominated by death. Paul Edgecomb, played by Tom Hanks, is now an aging resident of a nursing home who recalls his days as the head guard during the Depression years to a friend. In particular he recalls his relationship with inmate, John Coffey, a huge, muscular, but rather simple-minded Black man, who is wrongly accused of murdering two little white girls. Edgecomb is a righteous man who treats inmates with utmost respect and dignity and demands those who work under him to do the same. Some do and one in particular does not. Percy is a sadistic, hateful man with political connections. The inmates too are a mix of personalities. Arlen and Eduard show signs of being redeemed but are executed in brutal scenes of the electric chair, affectionately called “Old Sparky.” “Wild Bill” Wharton is about as disgusting a person as one can imagine, one certainly deserving of death, if anyone is. Then there is John Coffey, the initials are no accident, who in his simple ways and mysterious power brings redemption and healing. The film itself is somewhat schizophrenic about Capital Punishment. But it does cause one to think.

In a very real way, THE GREEN MILE helps to frame the discussion of Capital Punishment. “Can Christians support the death penalty” we ask. Supporters say “Yes” and immediately point to evidence of God’s use of Capital Punishment in the Bible---in the Flood of Noah, in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the death of the first born of the Egyptians, as punishment for adultery, involvement with the occult and other assorted crimes. They also remind us that Jesus did nothing to prohibit or reverse such teachings. Turning to the historical argument, Capital Punishment has been justified primarily as a deterrent, as protecting society and as a retributive act. The deterrent argument, namely that Capital Punishment or the threat of death deters would-be criminals from acting, has been the most prominent. Yet, there is little to no evidence to support the argument. We simply do not know that Capital Punishment is a deterrent. And I wonder why life in prison would not also serve as a deterrent. It would for me! The safety argument is based on removing the criminal form society and making sure he or she does not repeat their crime. That is a worthy goal for government. But I wonder why does not life in prison accomplish the same goal? Finally, as a retributive act, those who support Capital Punishment maintain that the criminal deserves to die, a lex talionis, “eye for an eye,” kind of justice. That is a justice which is difficult to administer fairly. Likewise, should one human being have authority of life and death over another?

These arguments have some merit. They also touch our emotions around heinous crimes and our desire to act with vengeance to correct a wrong, which is dangerous. As for the Bible supporting Capital Punishment, how do we account for the commandment, “Thou shall not kill”? Likewise, the whole thrust of the New Testament is Jesus calling us to a new ethic, a kingdom ethic, where forgiveness and redemption replace oppression and death. This is the basis of the position the UMC has taken in our Social Principles. We do not condone crime. But we do affirm the power of Jesus Christ to redeem. This does not mean exemption from punishment, simply exemption from the death penalty.

The arguments of those opposed to Capital Punishment, in addition to those already cited, include its irreversibility, its apparent discrimination, and its “lost possibility.” Obviously, Capital Punishment is irreversible, innocent people cannot be set free once executed. The use of DNA to establish the innocence of a number of persons on death row, should give us pause to think about the use of the death penalty. Similarly, the disproportionate number of African-Americans and Hispanics on death row is a very real concern. Statistics suggest poor people in general are more likely to be convicted of capital crimes and sentenced to death. My eyes were opened to this reality some thirty years ago while I was working in our Conference Prison Release Ministry. Ray, a 67 year old white man from southern Indiana came into our lives. He had spent nearly 40 of those 67 years behind bars, mostly at Stateville for murder. Hearing his case, I realized that neither I nor any of you would have been convicted for what Ray did and certainly not sentenced to death. But he was poor and did not have adequate representation. He did have his sentence commuted to life in prison. The “lost possibility” argument was one that was new to me. It has been suggested by Karl Menniger, the noted psychiatrist. Menniger opposed Capital Punishment on the ground that society could benefit by research done on those criminals who commit capital offenses to gain insight into their behavior. Certainly with the rise of senseless violence on our streets by young people who are so hopeless that deterrence has no real impact, such research could be valuable.

The bottom line is do we, as a society, want the state to have the power to kill in our name? Does not a sentence of life without parole offer the benefits Capital Punishment without the liabilities? How do we as Christians affirm the power of God’s redemptive love to enter this discussion?

No matter where you come down on these issues, I would challenge you to let the Gospel of God’s redemptive love inform your decision about Capital Punishment. It is a tough issue But then grace too is tough. After all it was there doing its redemptive work at the most memorable act of Capital Punishment---on that hill known as Calvary. Thanks be to God! Amen!