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ro obcy rhe 1aws as long as they werc
enforced. Bur whcn enforcement
bcgan ro lag and scnrcnces were no
longcr speedil)' carricd out, rhe rcsulr
was a crime explosion. As rhe hisrori–
cal book of Judges records: "In rhose
days rhcre was no king in Israel, bur
every man did rhar which was righr
in
hisowneyes"
(Judgcs
17:6; 21 :25).
Thc principie of spcedy punish–
mcnr was impressed upon King Solo·
mon, repured in rhe Bible to be rhe
wisesr king of his day. He gave his
arrcnrion ro rhc problcm of crime and
punishmenr, and concluded:
"Because senrence on a crimc is nor
exccured ar once, rhc mind of man is
prone ro cvil pracriccs" (Eccl. 8:11.
Moffacr).
Norice thar Solomon was aware of
rwo principies involved in currailing
crime: First, senrence muse be
executed
ro be effecrive;
it
is nor enough
merely ro be on rhe lawbooks. And
secondly,
it
muse be carried our
swiftiy,
nor subjected ro interminable
dela)'Sunri1 rhe crime is finally forgor–
ren and no longcr secms imporranr.
Bur whar about thc execution of
innoccnt persons? Surcly here rbe
dcarh penalty is a terrible miscarriage
of jusrice.
T he Other Side of che Issue
Sure!y, one of rhe worsr crimes is
to
inflicr rhe dearh penalty on an
innocenr person. This has becn done
in rhc pase.
Ir
has bcen done in rhe
prcscnr.
Onc such case is recorded in rhe
Old Tesramenr of rhe Bible. King
Ahab of Israel covercd rhe vineyard of
a cercain Naborh, who lived ad join–
ing che king's palacc. Naborh, how–
ever, refused ro sel l bis properry ro
Ahab.
Jezebel, Ahab's wicked wife,
plorred ro obrain rhc vineyard for her
husband, and wrore leners in rhc
king's name ro rhc clders of che ciry,
rell ing rhem ro ser cwo false accusers
ro resrify rhat Naborh had blas–
phemed God and rhe king. The men
of rhe cíty followed the insrrucrions,
and Naborh was sroned wirh srones
PLAIN TRUTH November 1972
unril he died (see 1 Kings
21:1-14).
God, however, was nor pleased
wirh rhis rurn of affai rs and senr His
propher ro warn Ahab and Jezebcl
rhat He would hold rhem accounr–
able for their reprehensible conduce
- He would requirc rheir blood for
thar of r aborh's (verses
17-25).
Thc
rcrriburion was fulfil led soon rhcrc–
afrer in a civil anda foreign war (see I
Kings
22:34-38;
II Kings
9:30-37).
This illusrrarion shows rhere is a
definire risk in rhe carrying out of
capital punishmenr. God knew men
would ar rimes
misuse
rhis aurhoriry,
and rhar rulers, judges and jurics
would. misrakcnly or intenrionally,
pur ro dcarh innocenr men (see
IJ
Kings
21:16).
God holds rhose so
involved accounrable for rhe abuse of
rheir power (verses
11-15).
T he Abuse of Power
Whar we muse realize is rhat God
has given human narions and govcrn–
menrs power
tO
decrcc laws and ro
punish evildoers (Romans
13:1-6).
He has given nations and govern–
menrs during rhis presenr age rhe
authority ro execure criminals, ro inflicr
rhc dearh penalty for major crimes.
Bur thar aurhorit)' is nota one-way
srreer.
He will hold rhosc who exercise
rhis power accounrablc for how fairly
and equi rably rhey use rbeir aurhoriry.
Those in sears of power and posi–
tions of rulersbip must rcalize rheir
awcsome responsibiliry. As King
David said rhousands of years ago:
·'He rhar rulcrb over men musr be
jusr. ruling in rhc fear of God"
(11
Samucl
23:3).
How rrue rhar is!
Those who abuse thcir power or fail
ro properly exercise ir when rhey
oughr to do so will be held rcspon–
sible for rhe consequences.
Unforcunarely, mosr nations roday
go ro one of rwo extremes. Some are
saddled with a sysccm of
interminable
judicial delays
and are abandoni ng
capital punishment because ir rhus
ccases ro havc a significanr deterrcnr
effecr. Orher narions are using rhc
dearh penalty ro rcmove rhose who
disagree wirh rhe esrablished rcgime,
who are supposed ly guilry of "poliri –
cal crimes." Both extremes lead co
disasrrous conse<1uences - an explo–
sive crime rarc on the one hand. or a
police srare on che other.
A Complex Issue
The quesrion of capital punish–
menr is a rhorny issue, deeply cn–
rwined wirh many orher social issues.
When capital punishment is inrcr–
minably delayed, needless mental tor–
menr and anguish are causcd. When
ir is nor carricd out imparrially as ro
race, creed. or cconomic status, rhc
rcsult is growing hosriliry and alien–
arion among rhosc discriminared
againsr.
To be effecrivc, capital punishmenr
musr be aclminisrered imparrially.
And ir must be adminisrered swifdy,
while rhe memory of che crime is sri ll
strong in rhe public's mind - as
soon as possible after the criminal is
apprehendecl and convicred of che
crime.
If rhese principies were followed,
rhe crime rate would be clramarically
reduced. Narions would also be saved
rhe incalculable expense of main–
taining prisons and providing for rhe
necds and susrenance of men who had
commirred crimes worrhy of dearh.
Bur srill anorher facror musr be
considered. Whar abour criminals
who have committed serious crimes
such as murder or rape, but who
come ro sincere remorse and genuine
repenrance, nor worldly sorrow bur
"genuine repenrance," over rheir
deeds? Should rhey also
be
execured?
The Biblical principie which
applies ro rhis sícuarion is given in
rhe book of Ezekiel. God rolcl rhe
propher: "And when 1 rell che
wicked, 'You shall die,' and when he
gives up his sins and does whar is
lawful and righr, resroring the pledge
deposited wirh him, refw1ding whar
he has robbed, and folJowing rhc
rules thar lead ro life, rhen
he shail
certainiy iive, he shall not die;
none of
rhe sins he has commirred shall be
remembered againsr him; he has done
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