In the name of... compassion?
TRENTON, N.J. — With New Jersey poised to become the first state in four decades to abolish the death penalty, opponents of the practice declared a historic victory and hoped other states would follow suit.
The Assembly voted 44-36 on Thursday to approve the legislation, which passed the Senate on Monday by a 21-16 vote. Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he will sign it within a week.
New Jersey has been barred from executing anyone under a 2004 court ruling that declared invalid the state's lethal injection procedures.
The measure would spare eight men on the state's death row, including Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994.
The case inspired Megan's Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities. (My italics.)
Read the whole story
- Great idea! Let's protect child molestors, murderers, terrorists and the like in the name of protection and compassion (where was the compassion for their victims?). Justice has nothing to do with it. We find that lethal injections are in any way uncomfortable and we will take men, who rape, beat, and stuff little girls into bags before burying them alive, and tell them it's okay; there's no consequence. Everyone is basically good anyway, right?
On another note, it's sad to say that Megan's Law is one of the most stupid and ridiculous law ever created. Require sex offenders to report where they live so we can supposedly stop them from committing a crime (as if they would include the government in their evil plans!)? Explain to me again just how this is meant to protect citizens... the stupidity of our elected officials boggles my mind. (What a surprise that it was our own Bill Clinton who brought forth the brilliancy of requiring "registry" of sex offenders.)
We can't be cushy and queasy when it comes to punishment. Justice has and always will be an uncomfortable thing to see, but if it takes the death penalty to stop widespread crimes and killings, and the stripping of purity and life from those innocent, then so be it. Unfortunately, it takes a real man to face up to the truth and carry out the hard task of enforcing the law. We are seeing greatly the affects of very few true men leaders in our country today as women and children continue to be hunted and molested.
Lord, raise up an army of mighty men to run for office and restore your Law in this fallen nation! Have mercy on this your ignorant and blind people.
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/13549?CFID=1317130&CFTOKEN=11476832
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18 comments:
I can't quite tell, Jen...are you not in favor of the death penalty? I am. I see it as Biblical. Unfortuantely, our government is so slow to do it. Our taxes wind up keeping people alive.
I think Jen is quoting the article in the bottom half of her post.
If we go from a Pro-choice worldview, all these criminals should have the right to choose whether they die or not. Right?
My dad used to joke that they waste so much time with courts and trials and such, if we were in the good ol' West, they'd just string you up as soon as they caught you. :)
No, she's not quoting the article. Sorry. I think she's being sarcastic.
I apologise for any confusion. I tend to be a little too sarcastic and unclear when I'm upset.
My point being... "informing" people where criminals live is not going to stop crime. There are criminals everwhere and parents can't keep an eye on children 24/7; so how do we strike a fear in the hearts of bad men so they won't walk up to your child? And letting criminals think that they can get by with crimes by not establishing the death penalty is even worse. To be plain, I am for the death penalty.
The first half of the post was an article I quoted. The second half was my own writing.
Sorry anonymous, but if you had kept your comment clear of accusation and stuck to the facts, I would have left it.
you take these extreme opinions, criticize everyone, but can't take any criticism yourself. Its not a very mature way to be.
I support the death penalty, in the case of a conviction based on clear evidence of a serious crime.
Something is seriously wrong when violent criminals are protected while unborn human life can be taken in the name of convenience.
Okay, you totally make sense. In fact, it is same with the gun issue. Even if you take them away, criminals will find a way to get them. If people still have "problems" it would not make any difference if you knew where they lived, you're right, Jen.
It breaks my heart to see Christians, who are saved by a God of forgiveness and love, demand the death penalty.
We are all sinners. By your argument, we all deserve to die.
Anonymous,
If we have accepted God's free gift of salvation, we are forgiven, but that doesn't erase the consequences of our actions. If you decided to jump of a sky scraper and half-way down decided that that was not a good idea and asked God's forgiveness, you are forgiven, but that will not change the consequences when you hit the ground. When we sin there are always consequences. Read Acts 5 & Joshua 7.
Indeed, and I am not arguing against consequences. If anyone in New Jersey commits a crime today, they will still be punished. It is the method of punishment that I believe to be less than Christian.
I personally would not consider a life in prison to be a free ride.
In Acts 5:1-10 you'll notice that it is the Lord who brings judgment against Ananias and his wife. Not the Apostles... The Lord will judge all people, criminals included, in his time, not in ours.
While Joshua 7 makes apparent argument for capital punishment, one must examine the message being presented in the text. Achan says, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel." He then names his sins and is stoned to death.
However, this is a story from the Old Testament. The Old Testament was a time governed by the Law. Death was the expected consequence for a crime at that time. It was expected by people and it was expected by God. However, with the coming of Christ, the Law was fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17)
I encourage you to read further in Matthew, particularly Matthew 5:21 which will underline my point from the previous post, Matthew 5:25 where Jesus speaks specifically of life in prison, and Matthew 5:38 where Jesus refutes the old law of "an eye for an eye" and instead demands forgiveness as the new standard.
Also read Hebrews 1 where Christ becomes the high priest and sits at the right hand of God for a clearer idea about the era of the Law vs. the era of forgiveness.
The death penalty simply is not a Christian response to crime/sin.
I'm not going to go into the death penalty issue (I believe the death penalty should still be used...."Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6), but I did want to say something about the really dumb "registered sex offenders" program.(sorry, but I couldn't think of a nicer way to put it :).) It doesn't do any good at ALL for the American people. Just because they have sex offenders register, so people can know where they are, does not give us the right to protect ourselves against them, should they try to harm us, and further, I really don't think that the people who should be most concerned about their (the offenders') location are even concerned at all! I speak from personal experience, too...we live right across from two major things which NEVER should be side by side: a middle school, and a sex offender. I'm the oldest of eight, with the youngest being almost 5 months old, there are several other children in this neighborhood, not to mention there are at least two children living in the home of the offender!!! We had lived here nearly two years before we found out he was living within a hundred feet of us, and my Dad only found out because he looked it up on the internet!!! Right away he called the school to let them know, and the *principal* told him "Oh, you know, it's not that big a deal, but I'll look into it if it makes you feel better. She never did. He called the police. They did nothing. I wonder what they would say if any of the children (and I pray to God this never happens!!) in the neighborhood, or in that school, ever end up hurt by that man. Thank God we'll be moving to a different town soon!
Another awful thing about the registry: some offenders may never have even committed the crime they're accused of, some may have only committed (I'm not condoning it, just saying it's a lesser offence, imho) indecent acts with a minor *with their permission*, while others may have committed rape, but how are we to know that, and why should they all be given the same freedoms?? And why should the ones who've committed greater crimes be allowed to live near children??
Sorry to be so long-winded, but this issue really has me angry.
I agree with annonymous about the death penalty.
I think sometimes you can come accross as not having any compassion whatsoever in any of your posts.
Im not having a go...it is just an observation. Maybe your heart needs a little softening and grace
I just wanted to point out that using the bathroom in public (i.e. a dude peeing on a bush at like midnight when no one is around)is considered "a sex offense." A registered sex offender is not necessarily a molester (though many are) it could also mean that you got caught with your pants down when you really had to go....
I agree. We recently saw a notice in the paper of a sex offender moving to our area. Not that there weren't any before, but it is cetainly an ARRG! thing. I have friends living minutes away from there.
I think the British might have had the right idea in shipping criminals to Australia. Perhaps, if the death penalty won't be accepted, we should establish a penal colony on Mars...
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends."
Gandalf
from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
"He who is only just is cruel. Who on earth could live were all judged justly?"
Lord Bryon
"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justic."
Abraham Lincon
Just a few quotes against the death penalty!
And, I must say, some of you folks must not understand your current govenment too well, eh? The government is made of people. People make mistakes. The ability to make the mistake of killing an innocent person is NOT one your govenment should be afforded. Humans should not have such power over one another (power is a very dangerous thing!)
May I suggest a book?
"Whatever happened to Justice"
by Richard Maybury
I think it is one many of you would like, especially the author of this blog, who seems very interested in politics and social issues within her county.
Jennifer, I understand your outrage and disgust with sex offenders and agree that we need to do everything we can to protect our kids. At the same time, you must also remember that sex offenders are the lepers of our time... They are viewed as the lowest, most hopeless in our society. It's for that very reason that we must never lose our compassion for them! You no doubt disagree with this, but it IS what Jesus taught: infinite love and forgiveness, even for those who commit evil acts. The reality is, even if we must put someone to death to protect society, at the same time we have to recognize that the criminal was ALSO a victim... A victim of a compulsion or sickness that we, as healthy, well-adjusted people, cannot phathom being afflicted with. You have to realize: nobody was born with the desire to commit evil acts. The factors that work to mold a person's character are incredibly complex, there is no way to ever know how or why people come to be what they are. Isn't it just a little telling that most sex offenders were themselves victims of abuse when they were children? You want to think that they still could have chosen to behave differently, but in fact, once an intense compulsion is hardened in your mind (something you don't cause or desire to happen), it takes an equally intense realization of love to undo it. THAT is why we must not simply condemn rapists, sexual predators or even murderers... Because then we cannot save them!
I hope you can understand some of what I am saying. Again, I am NOT saying that we shouldn't take sex offenders off the street and protect our kids... We MUST do that, it's the only way to stop the cycle of abuse. It's like quaranting sick people. However, I fully believe that Jesus, if he were here, would agree with me that we must feel love and compassion for both the victims and the perps. It's the only way our world and society will ever evolve to a more loving state...
I believe in the new testament commandment of love. Therefore, I am pro-life, anti-war and anti-death penalty.
I wouldn't want to be responsible for ending someone's life, or judging their heart based on their actions. That is God's place.
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