Oregon and the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime. The Death Penalty is only legal in 27 out of the 50 states, and Oregon is one of them. The death penalty was first introduced in Oregon in 1864 but later abolished in 1914. It was again abolished and reinstated multiple times. As of 2022, the death penalty is still legal in Oregon but is currently on moratorium or temporary prohibition. In 1914, Oregon voters, by constitutional amendment, repealed the death penalty with just 50.04 percent of the vote. That amendment became Article I, 36 of the Oregon Constitution. In 1920, voters restored the death penalty by repealing Article I, 36, and approving Article I, 37-38, with 56 percent of the vote.
For centuries, Christians have had to recourse to the death penalty and justify it. Nowadays, the vast majority of Christian churches are against the death penalty and actively campaign for its abolition. In the Old Testament, the death penalty was required a few times due to certain crimes. However, God frequently demonstrated his mercy. The principal argument is that life is sacred and a gift from God, but a human who wrongfully takes one’s life must lose their own life. This is a form of restitution, which is a form of justice. Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” This is part of God’s covenant with Noah after the flood. It reflects the great value of human life and gives the reason for that value. Man is made in God’s image.
Between 1904 and 1994, 115 people were sentenced to death in Oregon, and 58 of those were executed. In the United States, an average of 46 people have been executed yearly. These numbers have dropped to fewer than 40 inmates a year executed in the past decade and 25 or fewer in the past five years. The church is against the death penalty as it lines up with the 5th commandment: “Thou shall not kill.” The death penalty is a form of killing an innocent life. It is only acceptable if it works for the greater good or is used as self-defense. The current catechism says the death penalty is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”.
John Paul II says, “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living, for he has created all things that they might exist. God created man for incorruption and made him in the image of his eternity, but through the devil’s envy, death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it”. In easier words, John Paul II means that God created everyone in his likeness, so no life should be taken unless it is in God’s timing. As Christians and followers of God, the Death Penalty is not acceptable, and we should all work to abolish it in the entire country. Ways to do this include supporting members of Congress with a similar opinion, peaceful protesting, and, most importantly, prayer.
