![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AdobeStock_gallows-copy-2-1-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>The thirst for vengeance, often thinly veiled as justice, is a natural human reaction. We want to get back at someone for hurting us. For those bent on vengeance, remember this: killing the killer does not bring back loved ones, nor does it fill the gaping hole in your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Christians here in the Bible Belt use scripture to justify state-sanctioned murder. I\u2019ve never known anyone, including myself, who hasn\u2019t at times cherry-picked Bible verses to serve their own purposes. The same people who cite \u201can eye-for-an-eye\u201d do not place the same weight on similar Levitical laws that we now see as outdated and irrelevant, like stoning a belligerent son to death. So pick the cherries you like and leave the rest to die on the tree. Hmmm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is redemption not a fundamental tenet in Christianity? Does a person on death row no longer have a chance to be redeemed? Are we better as a culture for killing a person who has killed? Is a life sentence without the possibility of parole not a death sentence in its own way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have never lost a loved one to murder. My mother, who was the epitome of kindness, did, though. Her father, my grandfather whom I never met, was beaten and thrown into a dry well where he died, all for a relatively small amount of money. Mama would never talk about it. I do know that at least one of the perpetrators was sent to Parchman, but I don\u2019t really know what happened to the other two. Mama may have wanted revenge, but she never sought it because it was not consistent with her faith in Jesus\u2019 teachings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete Hegseth wants to turn an execution by firing squad into the center circle of a three-ring circus. Will there soon be a \u201cHunger Games\u201d-like reality show that streams executions? Aren\u2019t we better than that? Death of any kind is not entertainment. Even the hanging of the 10 Nazis convicted at Nuremberg of war crimes was carried out privately because it was considered inhumane to hold public executions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe in redemptive justice\u2014justice that offers the possibility for all of us, even for a person convicted of murder, to receive mercy and grace while behind bars. The one who has murdered may never be released from prison, but they may be able to contribute good things to the community in which they live and even to those of us who are outside the prison walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know my words will not sit well with many people. The words of the Old Testament prophets did not sit well with governments during biblical times either. But we can choose to use the power of our words to seek redemption for the \u201cunredeemable\u201d rather than getting our rocks off on watching them get snuffed out. We could choose that. Will we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I contend that it’s impossible to read the Sermon on the Mount and not come against capital punishment. (Tony Campolo, Christian sociologist and author.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026and that\u2019s the View from Beyond the Balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n