"The Obscenity of Capital Punishment"

Acts 7:55-60

May 22, 2011

Reverend Dr. David C. Brown
Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ
400 Glenwood Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37404

A Summary of a Sermon Delivered by Pastor David Brown in the Sanctuary of Pilgrim Congregational U.C.C. Church.

            While in today’s sermon I will share what I believe to be true facts as well as my own faith, your responsibility is to listen and decide what your response will be.

            Today’s scripture lesson  -  the stoning of Stephen  -  describes the execution of an innocent man.  There was a rush to judgment which resulted in a terrible injustice.  It reminded me of the case of Dr. Sam Shepherd who in 1954 was accused of murdering his wife.  He was tried and convicted in the media before he came before a judge and jury.  He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.  A new trial in 1966 found him innocent and freed him from prison but by then his life was ruined.  He died a broken man.

            Over the centuries countless thousands of innocent people have been condemned to death, then executed or lynched.  Can you imagine how they felt?  Can you imagine how their families felt?  Since 1973, 135 prisoners in 26 states have been released from death row because DNA or other evidence proved their innocence.  Michael McCormack and Paul House here in Tennessee were found innocent after being in prison twenty or more years.

            Facts leading to wrongful convictions include:

• Inadequate defense.  90% of those on death row could not afford their own attorney.  (Is it any wonder that the rich and powerful never end up on death row?)
• Perjured testimony and mistaken eye witness testimony.
• Tainted jailhouse testimony.
• Suppression of mitigating evidence by the state.
• Biased juries.
• Police or prosecutorial misconduct.
• Racial prejudice and gender bias.

As many as 10% of those sentenced to death are seriously mentally ill.  Today prisons have become our new mental hospitals.

The cost of the death penalty is millions of dollars per year more than keeping people in prison for life.  Appeals take years.  Is the answer “swift justice?”  Given the number of innocent people sentenced to death do we really want this?  Execution has no appeal.

The families of victims do not really receive “closure” in this process.  In any case, families of victims are not helped to recover through this process or the actual execution.
I also believe the death penalty brutalizes us as a society.  It is part of a trend toward a more and more brutal society.

I believe all these reasons should move any reasonable person interested in true justice to reject the death penalty.  It is a grotesque symbol of our broken criminal justice system.

These are reasons we should share with those who do not share our faith perspective on life.  But as Christians we believe it is never right to seek vengeance against those who have hurt or harmed us or those we love.  Only God can bring true and ultimate justice.  As Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Romans:  “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.  I will repay.”

What can we do as Christian people?  We can pray  -  educate  -  advocate.  We need to let our political leaders know how we feel.

The crucifix in front of us reminds us of the execution of an innocent man.  One of his last words was, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  He’s speaking to us.  Do we hear him?