From: Ann Martin
Columbus
Regarding the recent article about the increase in death row executions, my question would be: "Why did it take so long?"
This has been the biggest irony of the death penalty for horrific, heinous crimes in this country. Prisoners languish for years in prison before the sentence is carried out — if ever.
Yes, such prisoners are entitled to their appeals. But if the death sentence still stands after all appeals are exhausted it seems the actual execution is still rarely carried out.
Where is the justice for the victims and their families? The murderer mentioned in the article, Orlando Hall, committed his horrific crime in 1994 and was just recently executed.
Twenty-six years? What a horrendous travesty of justice! Murderer Wesley Purkey finally paid for his horrific, grisly murders of a 16-year-old and an 80-year-old in 1998 with his execution after 22 years!
One of the women interviewed for the article stated that "Jesus Christ would never execute anybody." This is true. He, Himself, would not.
However, the New Testament is largely silent on the matter of capital punishment. The Old Testament, on the other hand, made it abundantly clear that some crimes, including murder, warranted the death penalty.
Biblically, we are to obey civil law which was given to man by God. If executions were carried out in a much more timely manner, capital punishment might be more of the deterrent it was meant to be for crimes resulting in death.
Regarding the blame placed on President Trump for the increase in carrying out way-past-due executions, and the hope that the Biden administration will put a stop to them, let us not forget that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President-elect Joe Biden openly tout their Catholic faith when challenged on various views and actions.
Yet, they both support the murders of over 600,000 unborn children in the U.S. a year. These are innocent lives. What a travesty it would be if Biden knocks himself out to oppose the executions of violent murderers but continues to support the murders of innocent babies.
Yes, we are ALL born into sin, but those who commit heinous crimes/murders have made their choice.
Finally, I wish to comment that while the two women who were interviewed for the article may have had their hearts in the right place in their correspondence with the two prisoners, it appears doing so may have clouded their emotional judgment in regard to the horror of the crimes these two men committed.
One of the women stated, "…but really, they’re just people…they just need people to listen to them and support them where they are now."
No one can listen to the victims. They were certainly people, too.
