James Sebele and

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James Sebele and Jordan Stewart present
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A JS JS production
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Religious Views on The Death penalty
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What is it?

• The death penalty, which is also called capital
  punishment, is defined as the judicially ordered
  execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a
  serious crime, often called a capital offense or
  a capital crime.
• This punishment is rare in most countries.
• We will examine the views of world religions on
  the use of this punishment.

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Judaism

• Almost all of Jewish Law comes from the Torah.
• The Torah contains specific verses on the death
  penalty He who fatally strikes a man shall be
  put to death (Exodus 2112)
• A person shall be put to death only on the
  testimony of two or more witnesses (Deuteronomy
  176)
• Jews look at all the verses about the death
  penalty and form an opinion by interpreting these
  texts.

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• The interpretation of the verses has been
  carefully examined in the Mishnah and the Talmud.
• From all the verses about the death penalty in
  the Torah, Judaism has come up with this final
  opinion.
• Since in most countries a person cant testify
  against themselves, a death penalty can never be
  the morally right punishment according to Jewish
  law.

• Most Jews now agree that There must have been
  at least two witnesses of the crime, the witness
  must have warned the criminal that they could be
  receive the death penalty if they continued, the
  criminal must admit that they were warned and
  then committed the crime regardless.

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Buddhism

• The death penalty is contrary to the ethical
  philosophy of Buddhism.
• Buddhist spiritual training is to purify the mind
  of hatred and develop compassion.
• Buddhism has five basic precepts, the first one
  is the precept of not harming and not killing.

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• Impermanence in Buddhism is the property of not
  existing for indefinitely long durations. this
  gives the idea that people can transform
  themselves.
• For people who have done horrible crimes, they
  have the possibility of transforming themselves
  and leading lives that could contribute to the
  world being a better place.

• From the Buddhist viewpoint, it makes more sense
  not to execute criminals. It makes more sense to
  keep them alive and give them the chance to come
  to a realization that what they have done is not
  a good thing.
• That gives a chance to mature and grow, and
  eventually become non-violent.
• This idea speeds up the process of growth and
  understanding, while killing them slows down the
  process.

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Hinduism

• Hinduism, unlike most religions doesnt have high
  ranked religious leaders to tell the followers
  what to believe.
• Hindus must form their own opinions on things
  like the death penalty.
• Since the faith basically revolves around
  non-violence and no revenge one can assume that
  the Hindu faith opposes the death penalty.

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• "If you want to see the brave, look at those who
  can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look
  at those who can love them in return for hatred."
  -- Bhagavad Gita
• This verse means that righteous people will
  forgive someone who has wronged them. Just as a
  family of a victim should do instead of pressing
  the death penalty upon them.

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Islam

• Islam has the basic principle that everyone has
  the right to live.
• However stated in the Quran, there are
  exceptions to the death penalty.
• In Islam, killing is only allowed when a court of
  law demands it. The Quran says Do not kill a
  Soul which Allah has made sacred except through
  the due process of law.
• Therefore this exception authorizes the
  government to use capital punishment when Islamic
  law allows it.

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• The Quran states that if anyone kills a person
  it would be as if he killed all people. And if
  anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved
  the life of all people. (Quran 532)
• Under Islamic law, execution should be public in
  order to enhance its alleged effect of general
  prevention.

• The Quran states that the death penalty may be
  used when a person commits murder or spreads
  mischief in the land.

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Catholic

• Catholics, much like Jews base some of their
  morals and values on what is said in the Torah,
  however they base most of their teachings on what
  Jesus taught.
• Jesus was often asked about the rules that were
  written in the Torah. Jesus responded with his
  message of forgiveness.
• One great example of this was when the crowd was
  about to stone the adulterous woman. Jesus
  responded to this proposed death penalty by
  saying, Let he who has not sinned cast the first
  stone.

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• The late Pope John Paul II fought vigorously
  against the death penalty.
• In a famous visit to St. Louis, the late Pope
  pleaded with former Governor Mel Carnahan for
  clemency of a murderer on death row.
• This plea by the Pope opened the eyes of many
  Americans and gained support for the abolishment
  of the death penalty in the United States.

• The Catechism teaches that the Church supports
  the death penalty if it is the only way of
  protecting society from the aggressor. However
  if any non-lethal punishment can protect society,
  it must be used.

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Death Penalty Man
Death Penalty Man
Mr. T