The Christian Century

Everyone has an opinion about the death penalty. Theoretically (and abstractly) I have always been opposed to it, for the usual reasons: there are too many mistakes for such a permanent solution; there are too many racial, IQ and class inequities; there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters violent crime—and there is a good bit of evidence that it is violent crime. Also, it seems to me as a Christian that it contradicts the gospel call for forgiveness and truncates the possibility of transformation.