He challenged the one without sin to throw the first stone. We remember that Jesus himself was tried and executed by the state as a criminal. Yet even in this he never allowed hatred or a desire for vengeance to overcome him. Instead, he asked God to forgive his persecutors and offered the assurance of everlasting life to another who was crucified with him. Jesus' message was one of compassion, forgiveness, redemption.
Capital punishment offers only vengeance and more death.
More than three thousand people now languish on the death rows of our nation. In the first six months of 1997, forty-one people were executed in the United States, the highest rate in modern history. As people of faith, we feel called to stand against the death penalty. Continuing the cycle of violence through state-sponsored executions can never bring healing and wholeness to those suffering the effects of crime and the larger society. Instead, we must seek ways to open our justice system to processes through which true healing can be found.