Book Review: The Death Penalty on Trial
The Death Penalty on Trial by Dr. Ron Gleason
This book is written by Dr. Ron Gleason, now pastor of the Yorba Linda PCA church in California, and formerly pastor of Bethel Canadian Reformed Church in Thornhill, Ontario. He examines the death penalty from a Biblical perspective and helps Christians understand that capital punishment is not contrary to the New Testament teachings of Jesus and that even the secular state has a duty to bear the sword against what is evil in our society. For those who argue that capital punishment is no longer necessary and is an arbitrary and irrevocable outdated form of punishment, Dr. Gleason convincingly argues that there is a link between punishment and justice. He then proceeds to present a Biblical and historical analysis of the appropriateness of imposing capital punishment for the crime of murder.
Dr. Gleason addresses both the secular and Christian objections to the death penalty. He distinguishes between murder and killing, by pointing out that all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder. Although the Bible forbids murder, it does not prohibit killing. In fact, Romans 13: 4 makes it clear that the civil government bears the sword and is responsible for executing justice.
One of the most common objections to the death penalty today is the concern that there may be an irrevocable miscarriage of justice. Certainly with the advent of DNA evidence, there have been a number of examples of convicted murderers and death row inmates being exonerated. However, Dr. Gleason deals with this issue in a logical and persuasive manner. He points out that miscarriages of justice go both ways. The old adage that it is better for 10 guilty men to go free than one innocent man to be convicted, presupposes that there are 10 miscarriages of justice that justify a lenient approach to capital punishment. Dr. Gleason effectively disassembles this argument by pointing out that no human justice system is perfect. The fact that it is imperfect is not a justification for doing away with it, any more than the possibility of a wrongful conviction is a reason for abandoning capital punishment.
Finally, Dr. Gleason points out that the state authorizes the killing of unborn children by legal abortions (where the only victim is the unborn child), whereas the abolitionist argues that the state should not execute convicted murderers (where there is clearly a victim).
Although Canada has effectively abolished capital punishment, this thought provoking book helps us understand that we should not become complacent about these difficult social justice issues.
Charles Loopstra