Is Capital Punishment for Today?

I’m fully in support of huge restraints on capital punishment, and for that matter intense scrutiny of how the police and prosecutors do their work—too many are clearly implicated in putting their fingers on the scales of justice. Not a majority or even a significant minority, in my view, but just as the Westboro nutcases make it harder to be a Baptist, those who withhold evidence/etc., make it much harder to be in that sword-bearing role.

For me, the most powerful New Testament argument is from Romans 13, where Paul points out that the magistrate does not bear the sword in vain, because the sword is a killing instrument. Use it sparingly, use it only when you’re very sure of the verdict, all that, but in certain cases, it’s important to make sure the perpetrator can’t offend again.