If any man on earth deserves the death penalty, it is convicted murderer “Dr.” (I put that in parentheses for a reason) Kermit Gosnell. He murdered babies born alive after failed abortions in the most gruesome and heinous way.
Critics of the death penalty say that violence begets violence, that state sanctioned killing is no better than the atrocities perpetrated by Dr. Gosnell
That is not true according to scripture. Both the OT and the NT approve of the death penalty when administered justly by the government.
It can be argued that the death penalty in America is anything but just – that is a valid argument. It has been pretty well demonstrated that black men are much more likely to receive the death penalty than white men guilty of similar crimes. Abuse of process by some law enforcement officers more concerned with getting a conviction than properly investigating and prosecuting crimes cannot be denied. DNA tests by the Innocence Project and others have made that clear – they have exonerated over 300 falsely convicted people.
But the idea that a consistent pro-life ethic demands a rejection of the death penalty is not accurate. The establishment of the death penalty came in Genesis 9:5-6.
And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.”
Human life is precious and holy to God. In fact, it is so precious and holy to God that when you take a human life unjustly, your life is forfeit. Human life is so valuable that the penalty for taking it is extreme – death. God requires such a “reckoning” and authorizes human government to enforce that reckoning.
Dr. Gosnell took the most innocent of human lives – newborn babies – in such ways that I will not describe it here, nor add pictures. He will one stand give account to God for that unspeakable sin. Hopefully, he will repent before that day and find God’s amazing grace.
But it is wholly right and just that he should answer for the taking of these lives with his own.
