PF Commentary: Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment: A Personal Statement

By Chuck Colson\|Published Date: June 29, 2009 As we Christians grow and cultivate the disciplines of reading and study, we sometimes alter our views. Sometimes these views even change dramatically. No one knows this better than I, having been dramatically converted to Christ and, subsequently, having my entire worldview turned upside-down.
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What's the Bible's Position on the Death Penalty?

By Daniel W. Van Ness|Published Date: June 29, 2009

Several years ago Dan Van Ness, then president of Justice Fellowship—PF's criminal justice reform subsidiary—wrote "A Call to Dialogue on Capital Punishment." It was not meant to take sides on the death penalty, but rather explore some of the important issues raised by the various sides. This article is excerpted from Dan's monograph. Dan now works with Prison Fellowship International.

The Question Is: What Is Just?

By Chuck Colson\|Published Date: June 29, 2009 To justify punishment by whether it “deters or cures” is the triumph of sociology over justice. “Why in heaven’s name am I to be sacrificed to the good of society in this way? Unless, of course, I deserve it.”
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Capital Corruption: The Trial of Jesus

By Jeff Peck|Published Date: June 29, 2009

The use and misuse of capital punishment has a long history. Ironically, the Christian faith finds one of its supremely divine moments in a capital trial gone wrong. Jesus’ death on the cross was not only foretold, but also necessary for the forgiveness of sins. The innocent Christ would be put to death unjustly, yet through the mystery of salvation, that punishment would become just when He accepted the sins of the world on His own body.

Matters of Death...and Life

By Becky Beane\|Published Date: June 29, 2009 You have to go inside the prison to see the faces of the death-row inmates . . . to put them with names.
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The Other Victims

By Becky Beane|Published Date: June 29, 2009

A year before Theresa Sims married her husband, Mitchell, her grandmother gave her some porch-swing counsel. "You know that when you get married, it's supposed to be for life," she told the teen. You make a promise — not only to each other but to God, too — to stick together for better or for worse. So before you get married, try to imagine the worst thing that could happen, and ask yourself if you could get through that."

Theresa took that challenge to heart. Last May, she and Mitchell celebrated their nineteenth wedding anniversary, and her commitment to her husband remains steadfast — despite the fact that Mitchell has spent nearly 12 years on South Carolina's death row, convicted of three murders.