A Resolution: The Death Penalty

In view of our Christian responsibility to value all human life we are compelled to set forth our opposition to all capital punishment. Whereas   The General Conference Mennonite Church called for "federal and state governments…to discontinue the use of the death penalty" at Estes Park, Colo., July 16, 1965;   The Mennonite Church called for "federal and state governments…to discontinue the use of the death penalty" at Kidron, Ohio, August 1965;   The criminal justice system has sent innocent people to death row, and the death penalty is applied in a raciallydiscriminatory fashion, and disproportionately to some of society's most vulnerable people; and   We acknowledge the deep grief of families of murder victims and victims of capital punishment laws; hold them in our prayers; and commit ourselves to walk with them; Therefore we resolve that Mennonite Church USA appeal to state and federal governments to abolish the death penalty. We resolve further that the Executive Director of Mennonite Church USA address this issue with the President of the United States and urge area conferences to address relevant governors. We further urge congregations to take action to support abolition of the death penalty through prayer, letter writing, and public vigils at murder sites and at prisons* where executions occur. Adopted by Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly July 7, 2001, meeting in Nashville, Tenn. *Public vigils at murder sites and at prisons should take place only with compassionate consultation with the families of victims.

What were the standards and limits of the death penalty as God set them forth in the Old Testament?
As an attempt to limit the violence of the blood feud, the Hebrew law allowed the Israelites to practice capital punishment.

The standards for the use of capital punishment set by the Hebrew Scriptures simply cannot be attained in human society. Human beings are too fallible to achieve these standards. No matter how hard we try, even in the most scientific of settings, we make mistakes in perception and judgment. No matter how much we may desire it to be otherwise, the rich and the poor will always be treated differently. Thus, while the Hebrew Scriptures give us the right to use the death penalty, they set standards for its use that are impossible for us to achieve.¹

Doesn't God's justice call for an "eye for eye"?
With God, there is no dichotomy between mercy and justice. Biblical justice grows out of love. Such justice is in fact an act of love that seeks to make things right. Love and justice are not opposites, nor are they in conflict. Instead, love provides for a justice that seeks first to make right.²

Repeatedly, God responded to offense with mercy, seeking to restore offenders into right relationship with him. God responded to the first murder by protecting Cain against violence (Genesis 4:15). Cain deserved to die, but God was merciful. Although Moses and David were murderers, God chose to spare them. In the New Testament, Paul, who was closely associated with the murder of Stephen, is likewise spared. "As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11)³

What did Jesus say about the death penalty?
Jesus' statement about allowing the person without sin to cast the first stone (John 8:1-11) falls directly in line with the teachings of the Torah. "Yes," Jesus said, "you are allowed to stone this woman to death, but only if you yourself have not sinned." Like the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus allowed capital punishment, but then set requirements for its use that were impossible to fulfill. What is the meaning of this paradox? On one hand, the teaching is of justice: that sin deserves death. On the other hand, the teaching is one of grace: that mercy supersedes justice. The Bible teaches us that God wants to give us better than we deserve.⁴

What is restorative justice?
Our legal system often does not meet the needs of victims or offenders in the process of justice. Offenders are not held accountable to those they have actually harmed and victims are often not given a voice to articulate their needs. As Christians we call for justice for all those involved in crime and encourage individuals and communities to think about a philosophical shift in how we view crime and its impact. Restorative justice calls us to work toward the restoration of victims, empowering them and responding to their needs as they see them, as well as supporting offenders while encouraging them to understand, accept, and carry out their obligations to those they have harmed.

Doesn't God call the state to wield the sword?
The "sword" in Romans 13 does not refer to the state killing either in war or capital punishment. It was a dagger (not a weapon of war) that symbolized judicial authority.⁵

Protecting society from violent criminals is certainly a legitimate role of government, as Paul demonstrated in his teaching on the principalities and powers. But that protection must come with an opportunity for repentance and redemption if it is to meet the standards set by Jesus. Forgiveness does not mean letting the criminal get away with murder, but it does mean giving that criminal an opportunity to find a new way of life in which his or her former need for violence is given over to God.

The early Christians came to understand that in Jesus' sacrifice of himself, the cycle of vengeance had been broken. The moral universe that had been damaged by sin was repaired once and for all. God had found a way to break through our perpetual sinfulness. Jesus' death on the cross was the final payment for sin—a final sacrifice that made unnecessary other forms of sacrifice, including the human sacrifice that we call capital punishment. Jesus showed us that salvation from sin lay in forgiving the enemy, not in getting even by imitating the enemy's wickedness. When we forgive, we see new possibilities both for our enemy and for ourselves.⁶

How can we support victims?
Howard Zehr suggests ways we can support victims: We must openly recognize and acknowledge the intense feelings that crime creates in others and ourselves. We must stand with our sisters and brothers when they are victimized. We can provide assistance to victims. We can help victims grapple with their faith questions. We can help move society to solutions that heal.⁷