Last hope...

Today after 6:00 PM local time in Atmore Alabama, Kenneth Smith will be put to death via Nitrogen Hypoxia, unless Governor Ivey steps in and offer reprieve. The appeals court denied his stay for execution and the Supreme Court, a shell of its former self, refused to take up the case. So the last hope for Kenneth Smith is the governor of Alabama who has given no indication to have any heart for the imprisoned, least of all those on Death Row.

No, this is not a Death Penalty themed blog. And yes this is the second post on the subject in so many days, but it has very much been weighing heavily on my mind and soul. In this particular case not because I think Kenneth Smith is innocent, I don't think anyone is in the camp of his innocence, but because barring the extreme of the extremes none should be killed by the state. He should absolutely serve his sentence, and if that should be a life sentence then so be it. But state sanctioned murder? Not in a civilized society.

It has always boggled my mind when certain circles, proponents of the Death Penalty, toss out the old tried and true (but patently false) "This is a nation founded upon Judaeo Christian values! And the Bible is very much in favor of the Death Penalty!". I would start off in saying, let's go with the assumption that it is true. In Judaism the Death Penalty actually being administered was few and far between.

As I stated in the previous post:
“A Sanhedrin that puts a man to death once in seven years is called a murderous one. Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah said, ‘Or even once in 70 years.’ Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiba said, ‘If we had been in the Sanhedrin, no death sentence would ever have been passed” -Mishnah Makkot 1:10

In Christianity, its central figure Christ preached for the imprisoned to be treated fairly and that anything done to the least of these (the poor, imprisoned, widowed and outcast) it was done to him. Meaning to treat each person, regardless of station, as if they were Christ. But it seems that the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount are easily ignored when it supports ones stance on personal vengeance which is precisely what the Death Penalty is. One of the last few sanctioned blood sports. We don't visit the colosseum any longer and watch men die, we can just put them in a chamber and end their lives "Humanely".

Does it bring their loved ones back? Does it really deter the crime of Murder? Or does it just sate that primal hunger for vengeance. I think the answer to that is fairly obvious. So yet again, a fellow human is going to be put to death by the state and there are those in this country that will cheer this on as if justice is truly being carried out. While there are those like myself who will mourn the continuation of a cruel and immoral system. But I won't stop, nor will countless others around the country, fighting to end the Death Penalty in the United States.