Misuse of Bible blamed for US death penalty culture
-04/12/05
Human rights and church
Misuse of Bible blamed for US death penalty culture
-04/12/05
Human rights and church groups have joined the international outcry over the death penalty after murderer Kenneth Lee Boyd became the thousandth American prisoner to be executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.
But experts also say that ìunwavering belief in retributionî based on the selective interpretation of biblical texts by Christian fundamentalists is part of what keeps the ìstate killing cultureî alive.
In spite of a record 105 countries choosing to abolish capital punishment, America has continued to embrace it, accounting for most of the world’s known executions, along with China, Iran and Vietnam.
ìGod bless everyone in here,î said Mr Boyd, before he was wheeled into the death chamber in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday. He was forcibly strapped to a stretcher and killed by lethal injection.
Similar protests have greeted recent executions in Singapore, Iran and Saudi Arabia. But campaigners are particularly angry that the US maintains what many regard as a barbarous practice while lecturing others on human rights.
ìThis execution is a milestone we should be ashamed ofî, said Mr Boydís lawyer, Thomas Maher, outside the central prison where the execution took place. Over a hundred protestors were there, maintaining a dignified vigil, including priest and nuns.
ìCompared to Europe, we [in the USA] have a much higher homicide rate,î commented Tom Smith of the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Centre.
While the American rate is down from recent years, it is still among the highest in the world, showing that the death penalty is no deterrent, say critics.
Support for state executions is partly related to the fact that the country has the largest concentration of hard-line evangelical Christians ìwho believe in Ö the punishment of sin, and that capital punishment is biblically ordained,î said Mr Smith
He added: ìThat tradition is stronger in the United States than any European country,î and it accompanies a frontier tradition of ìswift and sure justice to deal with criminals … You catch a cattle rustler, you string him up.î
The Roman Catholic Churches and members of the historic Christian denominations in the US oppose capital punishment, but they are considerably outweighed by the Christian right.
Peace churches like the Mennonites and the Quakers are often outspoken in critiquing the partial and naÔve interpretation of the Bible underlying the majority cultural view.
It is harder to prove that racism is involved, the researcher claimed, though statistics show black people are on death row in numbers far disproportionate to their population density of 14 per cent.
However, Dr Deanne Bonnar, clinical professor of social work at Boston University, claims the country’s history of racism is a strong influence.
ìThere are many people who believe that capital punishment has replaced lynchingî, she declared.
Christians explore the link between doctrine and violence
[Also on Ekklesia: World cities to declare against death penalty; A Call for Reckoning: Religion and the Death Penalty; Christians heartened by US decline in death sentences; Campaigning nun to speak in London; Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Pakistan blasphemy review; US Christians urge opposition to proposed Attorney General; US lethal injection scandal challenges Christians; US ends executions of juvenile offenders; Churches plead with Gaddafi for clemency over death sentences]
Misuse of Bible blamed for US death penalty culture
-04/12/05
Human rights and church groups have joined the international outcry over the death penalty after murderer Kenneth Lee Boyd became the thousandth American prisoner to be executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.
But experts also say that ‘unwavering belief in retribution’ based on the selective interpretation of biblical texts by Christian fundamentalists is part of what keeps the ‘state killing culture’ alive.
In spite of a record 105 countries choosing to abolish capital punishment, America has continued to embrace it, accounting for most of the world’s known executions, along with China, Iran and Vietnam.
‘God bless everyone in here,’ said Mr Boyd, before he was wheeled into the death chamber in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday. He was forcibly strapped to a stretcher and killed by lethal injection.
Similar protests have greeted recent executions in Singapore, Iran and Saudi Arabia. But campaigners are particularly angry that the US maintains what many regard as a barbarous practice while lecturing others on human rights.
‘This execution is a milestone we should be ashamed of’, said Mr Boyd’s lawyer, Thomas Maher, outside the central prison where the execution took place. Over a hundred protestors were there, maintaining a dignified vigil, including priest and nuns.
‘Compared to Europe, we [in the USA] have a much higher homicide rate,’ commented Tom Smith of the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Centre.
While the American rate is down from recent years, it is still among the highest in the world, showing that the death penalty is no deterrent, say critics.
Support for state executions is partly related to the fact that the country has the largest concentration of hard-line evangelical Christians ‘who believe in Ö the punishment of sin, and that capital punishment is biblically ordained,’ said Mr Smith
He added: ‘That tradition is stronger in the United States than any European country,’ and it accompanies a frontier tradition of ‘swift and sure justice to deal with criminals … You catch a cattle rustler, you string him up.’
The Roman Catholic Churches and members of the historic Christian denominations in the US oppose capital punishment, but they are considerably outweighed by the Christian right.
Peace churches like the Mennonites and the Quakers are often outspoken in critiquing the partial and naÔve interpretation of the Bible underlying the majority cultural view.
It is harder to prove that racism is involved, the researcher claimed, though statistics show black people are on death row in numbers far disproportionate to their population density of 14 per cent.
However, Dr Deanne Bonnar, clinical professor of social work at Boston University, claims the country’s history of racism is a strong influence.
‘There are many people who believe that capital punishment has replaced lynching’, she declared.
Christians explore the link between doctrine and violence
[Also on Ekklesia: World cities to declare against death penalty; A Call for Reckoning: Religion and the Death Penalty; Christians heartened by US decline in death sentences; Campaigning nun to speak in London; Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Pakistan blasphemy review; US Christians urge opposition to proposed Attorney General; US lethal injection scandal challenges Christians; US ends executions of juvenile offenders; Churches plead with Gaddafi for clemency over death sentences]