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Ohio
Conference United Church of Christ |
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flow down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream…. But you have turned Justice into poison . . . . |
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A
collection of statements on the death penalty |
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Rev. Bill Barndt used his usual enthusiasm and wisdom to collect the following statements regarding the death penalty. They are intended for study, reflection, inspiration and, most especially, to be reproduced and passed along in church newsletters, bulletins, and so on. If your experience is like mine in reading them, you will find stirring witness from a variety of voices….Biblical, theological, spiritual, patriotic and emotional….voices of people we know. Like all the work of the Team to Abolish the Death Penalty, this is not only directed on behalf of the more than 200 inmates on Ohio’s death row, but also to alleviate the suffering of their families. Just as we are horrified by the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and what that means to our nation, we are burdened by the implications of our present system of justice and injustice, both in Ohio and nationally. This booklet is prayerfully dedicated to the memory of the victims of violent crimes. It is Don Huey, Sr….Brian Muha…Donna…. Sharon…and the powerful and profound witness their families make that sustain our work and give life to this effort. Dr.
Pidge Diehl |
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For more than 40 years the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has been on record opposing the death penalty. Most recently, at the 2001 General Synod, it spoke out against capital punishment knowing that most Americans support it. Our nation’s use of the death penalty puts us in the company of some of the most repressed governments in the world. Indeed, capital punishment has long been outlawed by all other industrialized nations of the world. It
is my hope and my prayer that we will end this barbaric punishment. |
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If I believed that capital punishment actually makes me and my neighbor safer, if I believed capital punishment brings true healing to family members of those who have been killed, if I believed capital punishment never leads to the unintended death of the innocent, if I believed all defendants in capital cases receive a fair trial with skilled legal representation, and if I believed that race and class play no role in whether a person is sentenced to death, then I might be in favor of capital punishment. But I don’t believe any of that. The evidence conclusively challenging each of these beliefs has been around for a long time. No, capital punishment is not about safety and healing and is certainly not always implemented fairly and competently; it is about fear and vengeance and nothing more. Neither are part of the Gospel as I encounter it. What I do believe is that challenging the death penalty or standing up for death row prisoners takes a risk in a culture where the death penalty still holds a sinister appeal. Last January I was at one of our churches in Chicago the weekend several inmates’ death sentences were commuted to life in prison and two death row prisoners were fully exonerated and released by the governor after their convictions were conclusively overthrown by suppressed evidence newly considered. One of those men walked into the church that evening during worship. He came to thank the congregation that for five years had championed his case, pointing in particular to a retired judge sitting in the pews who had counseled him and a young reporter there that night who had given public visibility to the injustice of his sentence. As he entered the chancel that night, still unsteady from years walking only in shackles, it was a moment of profound redemption in every sense of the word. There wasn’t a congregational in the United Church of Christ that would not covet a moment like that. But only those congregations willing to risk for justice when the outcome is uncertain and the criticism is strong will be gifted by such an experience. Are we prepared for this kind of risk, for the sake of that kind of redemption? I don’t believe any arguments for the death penalty anymore. But I do believe the Gospel calls us to risk, including risk for the abolition of the death penalty. But given the stakes – and in a nation that carries out the death penalty in my name the stakes are personal and high – I believe it is a risk worth taking.
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Rev.
Philip F. Kahal My immersion in Scripture over the years led me to believe that God is the Lord of life. God is the creator of life, and it is God who determines how long we shall live. The state’s only claim to be absolute over life and death is to arrogate to itself a power that belongs only to God. It is difficult for me to understand how a Christian can support the death penalty. When I know that it was the state, Rome, that killed Jesus in an ignominious way through crucifixion, I must stand against any earthly authority having the power to kill anyone. My
faith in Christ sees the reflection of a God who is full of grace, mercy,
forgiveness, and redemption. If
the Christ did not atone for the killer’s sin, it is difficult to see
how He atoned for mine. Taking
the life of a person on death row is a denial of God’s overwhelming
grace. So, here I stand,
against the death penalty. |
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Rev.
William K. Laurie How easy it is to feel ambivalent about abolishing the death penalty. One the one hand, with the number of death row inmates exonerated in recent years through DNA testing, one wants to declare at least a moratorium, as was done in Illinois. On the other hand, when one reads of some of the uncommonly heinous crimes today, one’s every instinct seems to demand the payment of the ultimate price as the fulfillment of the perpetrator’s responsibility. But then, we have this Gospel to deal with, where redemption is deemed always a possibility (else where would all of us be?) and where forgiveness is set forth as a primary motivation in any response expressive of truly human behavior. And so, the death penalty anywhere must be challenged and resisted if, as the church, we are to continue to encourage our society to be ever more humane. |
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Rev.
William A. Hulteen, Jr. I can’t imagine the horrific experience of having a loved one sentenced to death, put to death and only after the fact proven innocent. But I don’t have to imagine the horror of what it is like to have a loved one senselessly murdered. It happened to me and, starkly stated, all I wanted at the time was revenge, plain and simple. Time has passed, and now I find myself an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. I discovered that revenge became a preoccupation, masking itself as the harbor of desired closure and contrary to a biblical tenant that revenge is not mine to either seek or own. There were other discoveries on that journey. The death penalty is not a fail-safe deterrent. Its application is uneven as those who can afford the best legal assistance have an unjust advantage over those who cannot and that jurisdictions vary in their application of death sentences. I admit that even now I struggle with some abolitionists who seem less than demonstrably concerned for those who have had loved ones murdered. It would be helpful to their credibility if that were not the impression left by their passions. For me a society risks being impoverished if it is willing to apply an irrevocable penalty when there is compelling evidence that it does not deter, when persons have been found innocent after their deaths were taken, and when an attitude of revenge spills over into more than just dealing with the issue of the death penalty itself. To
this day I mourn the loss of my beloved Donna, even as I favor the
abolition of the death penalty. By
the grace of God I am no longer imprisoned by the need for revenge,
blinded to other factors that when forthrightly considered render the
death penalty untenable in a civil society. |
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Rev.
David V. Schwab I wish to be among those who support the resolutions to Abolish the Death Penalty in Ohio. Two years ago our family had a niece murdered who was very precious to us. What was even more tragic, Sharon was five months pregnant. Her husband, who murdered his wife and child with a baseball bat, was also precious to us. When the time came for me to write a letter to influence the judge on the length of sentence, I began my letter with: “although I am opposed to the death penalty, I believe John should receive the prescribed sentence outlined in his case.” John received two concurrent terms of 46 years in prison and is now at Lebanon Correctional Institute. Intellectually, I have always been opposed to the death penalty, but when a tumultuous tragedy hit our family in the face, I began to think of all kinds of revenge. Revenge only hurts the avenger, and I could see that I was destroying myself more than trying to rid John from the face of the earth. I pray for all victims of violence and know how difficult and life changing tragedies bring, however, the death penalty is not the answer. |
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I would in this manner register my support of the efforts of the Ohio Conference Spirit Team to Abolish the Death Penalty. I earnestly share the conviction that it is past time for enlightened civilized societies – and America certainly claims that status – to establish purposeful, creative, humane procedures for effecting a system of justice that opposes and reduces crime and criminal behavior. Legalizing murder, in the name of the state, is visible vengeance enacted in response to murder or capital crime. It has proven to be less a deterrent to crime than a passive assent to killing persons when it is felt that a justifiable reason may be established. Clearly criminal intent and behavior is a serious malady to be sought out, guarded against and penalized. The penalty needs to be graded so as to be appropriate to the crime, which may well necessitate confinement and restitution, when that is indicated. Always the goals must include protection and relief of the victims, and society at large, and the rehabilitation of the perpetrator. Positive, healthy intentions and behaviors must be taught and understood the way we establish the “common good” that need and desire. Psychological and medical diagnosis and treatment needs to be available and utilized as these may be indicated in the rehabilitation process. Capital punishment simply adds another dimension of violence to a society that is all too prone to view and use violence as the ultimate solution to all problems. |
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Rachel Muha, mother of a murder victim Brian Muha was murdered as a 20 year old college student. The voice of his mother, Rachel, from a presentation at First Community Church in Columbus in 2002: Justice is also restored through corrective punishment that is motivated by love…a love that requires accountability and demands conversion. That is, the mercy God asks us to recognize the evil in people, know what justice demands, and then add undeserved kindness to it. It is very hard to care for someone who has hurt and killed your son. God asks a lot of us; He asks that, so we have to do it. Real compassion begins with forgiveness but also says, “I know what you did. You did a horrendous thing, but together we can become holy.” |
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Rev. Don Huey, Jr., son of a murder victim Rev. Don Huey’s father, Don Huey, Sr., was murdered. Don speaks about hearing of the murder from a neighbor and then, in a presentation at First Community Church in Columbus in 2002, goes on to say: I was a minister and wondered theologically what does all this mean? Why does this have to happen? Why me? I was not beyond those questions. The only position that I know to take as a religious person both psychologically….from a mental health point of view, is that the death penalty does not help anybody and that justice can be done through punishment, life imprisonment, whatever. One day about a year ago I saw in the paper that thirteen prisoners who were on death row were released in Chicago. I can’t tell you how that shook me up….that here were thirteen people who had been determined innocent. I think the phrase we repeat so often “justice is mine, says the Lord,” is really the ultimate: That justice belongs to God, and it’s in His hands that we leave it because that’s where it starts. And I think that in Jesus He died for all people and for all nations. We may not realize that, and we may not all live that way in response, but I think that it just indicates how much God loves us. To actually put someone to death, whether it’s by the state or any other way is not a thing that’s helpful, is not a thing that’s morally right. |
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Julie Watson, member of First Community Church, Columbus: My name is Julie and I am a public school teacher. I work with children who have social emotional disabilities. Most of them have chemical imbalances that cause them to behave in a way that is socially and academically counter productive. When their medication is unstable and/or they are in unstructured environments they have great difficulty making good choices. Is it their fault? Yes..kind of. Is it out of their control? Yes..kind of. Every child is unique and the way his/her body and mind operate demands continual attention to discern what is best for them as they mature, change and grow. It is a very complex challenge to be able to figure out what is in their best interest and to relate to them in a way that holds them accountable for their actions but also takes their disability into account. I believe this issue is directly related to the death penalty and how the justice system handles people who commit terrible crimes and who have equally terrible social emotional disabilities. Is it their fault? Yes..kind of. Is it out of their control? Yes..kind of. Does the presence of the death penalty in the justice system complicate things even more? Yes..definitely. We must hold people accountable for the crimes they commit but also take into account their disability. The death penalty is a quick fix that does not consider the criminal as a person who has a right to be socially and mentally assessed and assisted if possible, as well as being convicted. My hope is that the justice system will begin to take on the challenge of looking at the complex issues involved in the criminal allegations, recognize that the people deserve a thorough evaluation of their abilities in the midst of receiving their consequences and stop using the death penalty as a solution to stop emotionally disabled people from committing crimes. |
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