I have decided that I wouldn't make a very good newspaper reporter. Breaking news stories would be well on their way to history books before I decided exactly how I should put them down in print. You see, I really like to carry thoughts or impressions around with me for awhile like trying on a pair of shoes and walking around in them to make sure they fit well. Perhaps I should do more writing and less thinking---after all, I have been doing more thinking and less writing for a very long time. But you know what they say about old habits...
It has been more than a week since I read about Ronnie Lee Gardner's execution in the newspaper and I am just now sitting down to try and explore my feelings as I type out words that I hope will pull together to make some sense...
I had read the articles about Gardner's crimes, his sad childhood, and about his victims. There was no doubt of his guilt and plenty of evidence of the far-reaching effects of the pain and sorrow he had caused but when I read the account of his execution I found my spirit wincing and tears coming to my eyes. I think my reaction came from a sorrow for a life that had been stained and torn by bad choices and for lives senselessly and prematurely taken or negatively impacted as a result of those bad choices. There is something terribly sad about coming to a point where human beings need to be put down like rabid dogs.
As a youth I was in favor of capital punishment mainly because my parents were, then as I grew older and starting thinking more for myself I stayed in favor of capital punishment because I thought it made sense that when someone willfully and coldly takes the life of another human being that the penalty should be to give up their right to live. An eye for eye, a life for a life...I guess I still believe in capital punishment---as long as someone else carries it out---
I looked up my church's position on capital punishment and the official statement basically said that those matters are left in the hands of the law and the church does not promote or oppose capital punishment. At first, I thought wait---how can you neither promote nor oppose something? Are we not either for or against something? On further thought I decided that capital punishment is not something to promote for the same reason it was so hard to read about the details of the execution---it isn't something that fits comfortably into most views of human society. For example, I don't promote violence but I do believe sometimes it is necessary and in those certain circumstances I would be seen as not opposing violence. Is it necessity that causes a stand to be taken on some issues? Society needs to be governed by rules--laws. There needs to be a penalty for breaking those laws. Crime needs to have punishment or corruption is the order of the day.
The debate on capital punishment stirs up a number of questions. Does capital punishment deter crime? I think the answer to that question is yes. People who are capable of committing murder might only hesitate because of the possibility of getting caught and if they knew that the penalty was death I think they might hesitate long enough to change their minds. As my husband says, the death penalty definitely keeps the murderer who is executed from committing more crimes. Many people have suffered and died at the hands of repeat offenders. However, the death penalty loses its effectiveness as a deterent if it is not immediately carried out. It is absolutely necessary to prove someone's guilt beyond any reasonable doubt before they are found guilty and especially before they are condemned to die but in cases where someone has been proven to be a murderer and sentenced to die then they shouldn't sit on death row for 10, 20, 30, or even more years. Do the criminals improve their lives during that time? Do they make positive contributions? Do they make any progress toward making restitution? Perhaps they do--or maybe they spend most of their time trying to avoid dying...
Is capital punishment cruel and unusual? Is it any more cruel than having someone be on death row---awaiting a death that is often ridiculously slow in coming? I think modern day criminals are treated quite humanely prior to execution. The majority of murder victims do not get to choose their final meal or their last words, they do not get to say goodbye to friends and family, meet with a member of the clergy, and most do not get a chance to have people protest the senselessness of their death. As for methods---firing squads are more humane for those carrying out the execution because it isn't just one hand that flips the switch or gives the injection. A firing squad also seems to be a quicker execution. I really do not feel qualified to choose the most humane way for a person to die. Who is qualified?
What about a person's background? From the sounds of it Ronnie Lee Gardner was never really taught right from wrong. He was taught that bad behavior was acceptable or even desirable. I feel sorry for the boy that he was but not for the man he became. There are many people who have horrendous childhoods who do not choose to take the life of another person.
What about the possibility of people changing their ways? What is accomplished by taking the life of a murderer? It doesn't bring back his victims. The only way a criminal can really show that they have changed their ways is by being released back into society. That poses a definite risk. Has the criminal changed their life to the extent that it's worth the risk of innocent lives? I am a hopeful person. I like to believe that people can change for the better but we have to look to their actions. Can a person who has no regard for the value of human life play a positive role in society? Do we become murderers ourselves when taking the life of a murderer? In war it is us and them. We are defending our country and our people but in the eyes of our opponents we are the enemy---the murderers. Again, it is a matter of perspective. But there is a clear perspective--a right perspective--a complete perspective of the big picture. It seems when we have done wrong we believe in a God that is loving and kind. When we have been wronged we believe in a God that is just. I believe that God is love and that he is the source of all truth and justice. God's love is filled with justice and his justice filled with love. Justice and love are not separate in the eyes of God...
Capital punishment is not an easy topic. There are no easy answers. I do believe there are right answers. I am thankful that as the scriptures say, 'God and Christ are the judge of all'.
