Are we known by the company we keep?

During the year 2010, 6 countries led the world in executions. The undisputed leader was China, which does not release this information. But the 5 other countries who were world leaders in state-sanctioned executions were responsible for over 61% of the 714 known instances of capital punishment in 2010.

There are lots of arguments on both sides of the debate about the death penalty. I was once in favor of capital punishment, but after research and reflection, I can no longer support it. Not when life imprisonment without possibility of parole is a viable choice. Not when 138 people have been released from death row when evidence showed they were innocent. Not when there is strong evidence that there have been innocent people executed (although the exact number is not known). Not when there is proof that the death penalty is significantly more expensive than the alternative of life without possibility of parole. And not when analysis of violent crime statistics shows conclusively that death penalty states have a higher incidence of violent crime than states without the death penalty.

I also think it’s interesting to look at the other countries who execute more people than any other. Remember that the U.S. was one of 6 countries that led the world in executions. Are the other countries ones which share our values? You look at the list and decide. The nations who implement capital punishment more than any other are China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, the Unites States, and Saudi Arabia. One more reason to reconsider.

Not long ago, I ran a week-long series on the death penalty. I tried to present the issue from a variety of angles. If you’re a new follower, you may want to check out these posts, which start here. And read also this statement from the American Catholic Bishops, taken from “Confronting a Culture of Violence”:

Increasingly, our society looks to violent measures to deal with some of our most difficult social problems - millions of abortions to address problem pregnancies, advocacy of euthanasia and assisted suicide to cope with the burdens of age and illness, and increased reliance on the death penalty to deal with crime. We are tragically turning to violence in the search for quick and easy answers to complex human problems. A society which destroys its children, abandons its old, and relies on vengeance fails fundamental moral tests. Violence is not the solution; it is the most clear sign of our failures. Too often we seem to be unable to resolve our most intractable problems without resorting to violence. 

****While you're ruminating on this post, be aware that an inmate I've been writing to for several years is to be executed a month from now. Please keep Donald, his family, and the family of the victim in your prayers, and pray also that God will give me the words to say to him as he prepares to die.

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