>>>>I'm really torn about this issue. Could I sit on a jury and vote for the death penalty for any human being? I really don't know, but I suspect not. I could inflict pain and punishment on someone who did the same to my child though.
>>>
>>>You might want to look at Romans 13:3-5
>>>
>>>3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
>>
>>Ironically, this position has become more contrary to the Vatican's position.
>>
>>"The position of the Catholic Church — against the death penalty — has been reiterated many times," the spokesman said in the statement, referring to the Vatican's overall opposition to capital punishment.
>>
>>In one of the late Pope John Paul II's encyclicals, "Evangelium Vitae" (The Gospel of Life) in 1995, the pontiff laid out the Catholic Church's stance against capital punishment, saying that in a modern world, with improved prison systems, cases in which the death penalty could be justified were "practically non-existent."
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>>The staunch opposition was reiterated in 1997, in the Church's updated catechism, a compendium of Church doctrine.
>
>Jeez! First I'm agreeing with John on something, and now I'm agreeing with the Vatican on something. I don't know if I can handle this.


At the risk of repeating myself (but these topics are cyclical so its unavoidable), my wife worked with Morris Dees' group on an appeals case for someone on deathrow here in VA. Up until that time I'd have to describe her position as conflicted between the horrific acts that were committed and the state imposing death. But after defending the person, watching the machinations of the state putting the inmate to death, being asked by the inmate to watch the process, dealing with the family, the fact that the inmate was a teenager when the crime was committed (as was an accomplice who served juvi time and has since been released)... after all that, she's no longer conflicted. Her position mirrors that of the Vatican. And that person did commit the crime. Thats not to mention those capital cases where the conviction is just incorrect. Personally, I'm not so sure i would categorize a sentence of life in prison as 'going soft'.