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Punishment Death Penalty

Describe the role and function of the Transnational Organised Crime Convention

President Bill Clinton once said, Supporters of capital punishment bear a special responsibility to ensure the fairness of this irreversible punishment. This statement entails the problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for centuries; how can the Church of Jesus Christ handle the responsibility of fairness and irreversibility when a human life hangs in the balance? In response to the needs of the Church working as a political system, humanity has witnessed the Church stagger from one end of the spectrum to the other; from the torturous executions of the Church sanctioned Inquisition to a full and loving embrace of human life as exemplified during the reign of John Paul II.

Such a broad range only further highlights the lack of absolutism concerning the Churches position on the death penalty. This paper attempts to outline the various beliefs the Catholic Church has held concerning capital punishment and the evolution of the beliefs throughout the centuries.

In his book, Saint Augustine teaches that homicide committed by the authority of God (I.E. the Church) is not considered murder. Two examples provided by Saint Augustine are soldiers fighting holy wars and when government, acting in accordance to State law, sentences a human being to the death penalty.

When speaking and debating the death penalty and capital punishment, the writings found in Saint Augustine's City of God are among the most cited works on the subject. However, Saint Augustine would change his thoughts in sermon thirteen when he instructed humanity not to condemn one to death but to instead allow the offender the opportunity to repent and give them the chance to reform.

In the year 1254, Saint Thomas Aquinas began work on Summa Contra Gentiles. In this book he rebuffs Saint Augustine and defends the death penalty as a necessary deterrent and prevention method, providing that it is not used as a means of vengeance. In Book Three, Chapter 146, Aquinas states there is no sin in administering punishment for those individuals who refuse to obey God's law telling us that any action necessary to preserve society is not evil. "The life of certain pestiferous men is an impediment to the common good which is the concord of human society. Therefore, certain men must be removed by death from the society of men." (Summa Contra Gentiles Book 3, Chapter 146)

Aquinas also rejected the argument that allowing offenders to live would encourage them to reform and be redeemed. He saw this as a frivolous statement retorting “if they would not repent in the face of death, it was unreasonable to assume they would ever repent” and further asking “How many people are we to allow to be murdered while waiting for the repentance of the wrongdoer?” (Summa Contra Gentiles Book 3, 1254-1258)

In Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas asks and answers the question “Is it legitimate to kill sinners?” Predictably his response is, “Now every individual person is as it were a part of the whole. Therefore if any man is dangerous to the community and is subverting it by some sin, the treatment to be commended is his execution in order to preserve the common good, for a little leaven sours the whole lump” (Summa Theologica, II-II, 64, a. 2, 1265-1274)

Aquinas is adamant that “the killing of malefactors is legitimate only in so far as it is ordered to the well-being of the whole community.” The right to carry out these actions is the duty “only to those charged with the care of the whole community—only rulers who exercise public authority; never is this allowed to private persons” (Summa Theologica, II-II, 64, 3, 1265-1274)

Pope Pius XII addressed the issue of the death penalty several times throughout his reign prior to Vatican Council II. Addressing the world's governments, seeing the State as the upholder of justice, and acknowledging the State's responsibility to civilization to punish within reasonable resources, Pope Pius XII did not explicitly defend or deny the state's right to impose the death penalty. However, after the convening of Vatican Council II, the emphasis on the dignity and sacredness of each individual would emerge as a central theme of his in the discussion of the death penalty.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the concerns of the death penalty but has been rewritten several times to be more restrictive than the original French revision in 1992. Starting with article 2267 and continuing through article 2269, the catechism defines the Church's stance on the carrying out of capital punishment.

In 1992 articles 2266 and 2267 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church stated, "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty. If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992, n. 2267)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, redefined in 1997, states in articles 2266 and 2267, “Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, nonlethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1997, n. 2266 & 2267)

The catechism was rewritten in 1997 during the reign of Pope John Paul II. Under his leadership, the Church redefined it's stance on capital punishment decreeing the death penalty must be avoided and should only be used in cases where it is the only means to protect society from the offender. In the Evangelium Vitae, written by Pope John Paul II in 1995, the Pontiff explained that with the advances of today's penal system, executions would be rare if they existed at all.

The Evangelium Vitae marked progress when comparing the 1992 version with the 1997 version of the catechism; however a specific stance, either pro or opposing, is not stated. Pope John Paul II made numerous appeals for those condemned to death and vehemently rejected the use of the death penalty. Based on this information it can be concluded that, even with the wording in the catechism being so ambiguous, the use of the death penalty can be interpreted as verboten.

For many U.S. Catholics, the visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States in 1999 was a turning point on the issue of capital punishment. During his visit, Pope John Paul II challenged Catholics to “protect not only innocent human life, as we do in opposing abortion and euthanasia, but also to defend the lives of those who may have done great evil by taking the life of another.” (Pope John Paul II, Mass in St. Louis, MO, January 27, 1999) As a demonstration of his desire to abolish the death penalty in its entirety, Pope John Paul II appealed to the governor of Missouri to spare the life of Darrell Mease.

Darrell Mease, who was scheduled to be executed on the day Pope John Paul II arrived in Missouri for a 31-hour visit, faced the death penalty for committing the murders of three people in southwestern Missouri. Due to the Pope's visit to the United States and Missouri, Mease's execution was postponed until after the Pontiff had left the US. The Pope asked Governor Carnahan to show mercy to Mease causing Carnahan to give clemency to Mease and commuting his sentence to life without the possibility of parole.

Ironically enough, capital punishment and the death penalty stand at the very formation and basis of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, was himself a victim of capital punishment. This can also be stated about most of the apostles and early martyrs of the Church.

The scriptures used in canon law are rarely used in the on-going debate over capital punishment and the use of the death penalty. In the Old Testament scripture, use of the death penalty can be defended. In Genesis 9:6 it is written, “If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.” He may be a God of vengeance and jealousy, but even “Old Testament justice” is tempered with mercy and exception.

The Old Testament contains several scriptures that are rarely cited in the argument opposing the death penalty. For example, in Genesis 4:15, God gave a command for no one to harm Cain after he murdered of his brother Abel. “If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold.” (Gen 4:15) Another example comes to us in Ezekiel, “Answer them: As I live says the Lord God, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!” (Ez 33:11)

The most used scripture in defense of the death penalty is found in Matthew, with the most used passage, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” (Mt 5:38) This phrase is emblazed on shirts, posters, banners, and picket signs at pro-death penalty rallies throughout the Christian realm. Few consider Jesus Christ's rebuttal of this in the following verse where it is written “But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well” (Mt 5:39)

In the Book of Romans, Saint Paul writes “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rms 12:19-21)

In Roman Catholic theology, the argument surrounding the death penalty is not whether the state has the right to execute the condemned, which legally they do, but if the death penalty is promoted, does it create a positive society? More progressive forms of Catholicism answer the question differently. The question of the death penalty was posed to + Most Reverend Michael J. Scalzi, Bishop of the American Catholic Church of New England.

The American Catholic Church of New England is a very progressive form of Catholicism, so naturally the views and catechism of the ACCNE include a broader view of capital punishment up to and including the death penalty. The American Catholic Church of New England is staunchly opposed to the death penalty for any reason. They recognize the state as the authority however implores state governments to use other means as punishment for capital offenses.

The understanding of punishment is to serve several purposes: retribution, reform and deter. The death penalty does not reform. It does nothing more than serve as retribution for society and deter the offender to commit further crimes. Is it more important to cure the ills of society through retribution or should we reform the offender in the hopes of producing a more productive individual? Working in the education field, I am of the opinion we need to educate our children in the hopes of deterring criminal action. We, as a society, should also work to educated individual already incarcerated so upon their release, they may be better able to react to situations that may place them back in a penal facility or on death row.

Bibliography

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition, U. S. Catholic Conference Staff, Doubleday Religious Publishing Group, March 01, 2003, ISBN 0-385-50819-0

Evangelium Vitae,Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1995 http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/JP2EVANG.HTM

State of Missouri v. Darrell Mease 842 S.W. 2d 98 (Mo. banc 1992), http://websolutions.learfield.com/deathrow/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=C740314F-AFFA-4E2F-A8CC85A1255791E3

Summa contra Gentiles,St. Thomas Aquinas (1254-1258), Vernon J. Bourke (Translator), Mass Market Publishing, 1956.

Summa Theologica: A Concise Translation, St. Thomas Aquinas (1265-1274), Timothy McDermott (Editor), Christian Classics, 1989. ISBN 0-87061-211-5

The New International Bible. Zondervan Publishing Staff, 1994.

The Works of Augustine, Sermons III/1, John E. Rotelle, Brooklyn: New City Press, 1990

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