Capital punishment focuses on retribution, sometimes reflecting a spirit of vengeance. Executions do not restore broken society and can actually work counter to restoration. Our challenge is to incapacitate offenders in a manner that limits violence, and holds open the possibility of conversion and restoration. In the meantime, God holds governments accountable to ensure justice. In a democracy, where government is by the people, justice is the responsibility of all citizens.
Violent crime is, in part, a reminder of human failure to ensure justice for all members of society.
The death penalty exacts and symbolizes the ultimate personal retribution. Yet, capital punishment makes no provable impact on the breeding grounds of violent crime. The death penalty distracts us from our work toward a just society. It deforms our response to violence at the individual, familial, institutional, and systemic levels. It perpetuates cycles of violence.