Randy Alcorn Capital Punishment Summary

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this article, Randy Alcorn states that the death penalty is an issue that cannot be answered simply by human opinion. He acknowledges that Genesis 9:6 is a valid example of capital punishment; God installed capital punishment as a valid punishment for murderers to halt further divide from him. However once Jesus came into the world he began to teach his followers not to kill, or avenge themselves. Jesus Christ encouraged all his followers to turn the other cheek and even did this himself before crucifixion. Randy Alcorn strongly states that although Jesus taught that we are not to seek vengeance, but instead show mercy and turn the other cheek, the Word of God seems to clearly indicate that capital punishment should be carried out on those …show more content…

Some of it’s main points are that human life is valuable and acknowledges that some people believe that even the worst murderers still should not be deprived of the gift of human life. Another valid issue that it points out is that capital punishment can cause the execution of the innocent. In the United States, 130 people on death row have been found innocent since 1973. Furthermore, the article provides another point against capital punishment and that is that retribution is wrong and morally incorrect. At one of the U.S. Catholic Conferences, it was said that we as a people cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. I intend to use this article to extend on various parts of my essay, especially on the effects of capital punishment on the …show more content…

The article says that sentencing criminals to life in prison without parole is much more effective. It is much more effective because it allows criminals the chance to reform their lives while also cutting them out of society, disallowing them from continuing in crime. This article also highlights that the state of Oregon has sentenced 121 people to this sentence and it has proved to be a useful crime deterrent. This article also outlines that poor defense has left many sentenced to death. The article states that a study conducted at Columbia University found that 68% of all death penalty cases were reversed on appeal, with inadequate defense as one of the main reasons requiring reversal. I will use this article to bring attention to the fact that the death penalty should be abolished because a lot of the time, people being prosecuted cannot afford a competent defense team. I will also use this article to accentuate my belief that jail time, life without parole, is a much better punishment than the death

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