Killing, murder and the death sentence

Religion Zone
It is common knowledge that the original scripts of the modern day Bible were written in either Hebrew, Greek or Latin languages. On translation into English, it should be an acceptable fact that in some instances improper English words could have been used to describe certain original meanings.

It is common knowledge that the original scripts of the modern day Bible were written in either Hebrew, Greek or Latin languages. On translation into English, it should be an acceptable fact that in some instances improper English words could have been used to describe certain original meanings. BY PROSPER TINGINI

Bible (1)

The sixth of the first 10 commandments of Mount Sinai states (Exodus 20 verse 13); “You shall not kill”. This is a simple statement of a verbal command as it does not give any guidelines on how and when the killing constitutes a sin. Killing is to deprive of life. The commandment does not distinguish whether the killing is against humans, animals or any other creatures. This would render the killing of anything to be unlawful and a sin. It lacks clarity. This, therefore, creates the problems of interpretation and the subsequent debates on the death sentence.

For that reason, the proper English word which should have been used in the commandment is “murder” and not “kill”.

Murder confines the killing to only that of other humans. “Killing” is too ambiguous for the word to give a properly defined meaning to the commandment.

The Lord our God actually defines the prohibited act of ending life, in Exodus 21, verse 14. He spoke directly to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, saying; “If a man wilfully attacks another to kill him treacherously, you shall take him from my altar that he may die”. In simpler terms He is talking of murder, the deliberate ending of the life of another by deceitful means and with an evil intention. There is no justified purpose to kill in this instance. God expands on the definition to speak of the acts of killing that do not constitute a sin. Verse 13 of Exodus 21 quotes Him saying, “But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee”. He is, therefore, seeking to exonerate those who kill other humans by accident or for lawful purposes. He gives them protection from accusation of murder. He, therefore, recognises that there are circumstances when the killing of another human can be excused. This, therefore, brings us to the current debates on the validity or justification for the imposition of the death sentences.

Proponents of human rights would argue that no one has a right to end the life of any other human, no matter the reason behind it. They have at times fought successfully against the death sentence, regardless of how gruesome the crime. In cases where an individual has wilfully and treacherously murdered another, as God put it, the first question to be asked is whose rights then should be valued more, the rights of the murderer or the vanquished rights of the victim? The second question is, if the murderer shows no remorse at all for ending the life of an innocent soul, or even gives pride to his actions for whatever reason, should his life be valued over that of the innocent victim?

Surprisingly, people support rights to abortion to end the lives of many unborn little innocent children. Therefore, on one side the human rights proponents are fighting for the abolition of the death penalty and on the other they are calling for allowing for the right to murder an unborn baby. What kind of confusion is this? While I support the concept of human rights, it is obvious that sometimes these rights are being misapplied.

The Lord our God does not want anyone to treacherously take out the life which He created, since that life belongs to Him. The punishment for such a crime is death, so says the Lord. In the book of Genesis, chapter 9 verse 6, God spoke to Noah and his sons, saying; “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image”. This is the authority that the Lord our God vested in mankind to shed the blood of callous and unrepentant murderers.

Let’s go back to the question on whether it is right or wrong to pronounce and effect a death sentence on anyone. God’s answer is simply “Yes”, if it is proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the crime was committed wilfully and for evil intent. If the murderer shows no remorse at all for the crime, and no value to human life, he should be taken out of society to die. He is a danger to society even in the prisons where he might be kept. To protect other innocent lives, he should lose his life. However, where there are extenuating circumstances, any mitigating factors, and if the murderer regrets his actions and pleads for forgiveness, then and only then should there be a “stay of execution”. God forgives those who seek repentance. He is a merciful God.

Some people have argued that at times some people are sentenced to death for the crimes they did not commit. While this is true, it is the duty of the courts to ensure that adequate guidelines and measures are put in place to avoid such occurrences. Even the Lord our God gave mankind the guidelines to follow to avoid sentencing innocent people to death. In the book of Deuteronomy 17 verse 6, He put a law into place for judges and for the courts, saying; “On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses he that is to die shall be put to death”. He reiterated the same thing in the book of Numbers, chapter 35 verse 30, saying; “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness”. He, therefore, seeks to eliminate wrong convictions. This should be strictly adhered to, to prevent any such mishaps.

Being a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ, I would want to quote the teachings He gave to mankind (Matthew 5 verse 21-26); “You have heard that it was said to the man of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgement’. But I say to you everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement. Whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘you fool’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there by the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser land you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you pay the last penny”.

l Prosper Tingini is a religious author. He wrote a book titled God’s commandments for mankind. He can be contacted on phone number: 0771 260 195 or email: [email protected]