Death Penalty: An Historical and Theological Survey, The

Spiritual Life, Spring 2000 by Kelly, Patricia

The Death Penalty: An Historical and Theological Survey. By James J. Megivern. Paulist Press: 997 Macarthur Boulevard, Mahwah, NJ 07430. Pp. 641. Paper. $29.95.

For those of us intensely involved in Respect Life work, this book represents a watershed in research and hope. Interestingly, a call from a public defender in North Carolina in 1979 was the origin for this book. Mr. Megivern was asked to provide someone who could explain to a jury during the sentencing phase of a trial that the Bible does not require that all killers necessarily and always be executed. The book begins with the prologue, "On Interpreting the Bible." The chapter titles indicate the sweep of history covered: they begin with early Christianity and extend to 1996. There is real drama as the theological position regarding capital punishment shifts in response to the understanding of the times and the historical situation.

Early Christianity used Scripture to support the right to take the life of someone who had shed blood. Genesis 9:6a and Romans 13:4 were used as proof texts. However, the use of these texts to bolster the infliction of capital punishment has been judged unwarranted because such a reading fails to take into account the literary genre of the passages. Among sainted theologians there are conflicting views. The following two are cited. St. Augustine opposed in practice every case involving the death penalty. For Augustine, the limit for coercing heretics never extended to the death penalty. St. Thomas Aquinas lived in another era, and his statements on the death penalty are deeply disturbing. Uncharacteristically, he does not even consider the time honored pastoral position adopted by St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and others.

The Reformation launched an age of defensiveness and many inquisitions, with untold blood shed in the name of combatting heresy. In a later era, the atrocities of the Nazi regime were the catalyst for European countries to end, one by one, the right of the state to take life. Even those countries that kept capital punishment on the books never applied it.

The Second Vatican Council, with its emphasis on human rights and the dignity of all people led the way to the present-day statement of Pope John Paul II in the New Catechism that "If bloodless means are available, the state should reject the use of the death penalty." (The language of the Catechism in opposition to the death penalty became even stronger in 1998. This, however, is to go beyond the scope of the period of time covered in this book.) The Death Penalty is supremely well written and engaging. Finding time to read it was difficult, but at no time was I tempted to "skim" any of the 489 pages.

The movement from a facile acceptance of deliberately destroying human life to an utter abhorrence has varied for different cultures, religions, and times. As always, a genuine change in consciousness is dependent on education, enlightenment, and the willingness to "let go" of previously held convictions. Most especially, there has to be a willingness to "let go" in spite of the personal sacrifice this stance may demand.

Reclaiming the teaching and example of Jesus is what we must be about today. As Christians, there is much in our history for which we can blush. There is also much for which we can be proud. The message that Jesus preached was as radical in his time as it is in ours: release of the prisoner, preaching the Good News to the poor, giving sight to the blind, and letting broken victims go free. The essential truth that Jesus communicated and that the saints and mystics of every age have understood is that we are created and loved by God because God is good and loving, not because we are good and thereby merit God's love.

There are no limits to God's love, and there should be no limits to our exercise of love. Punishment for crime is justto remove hope for the criminal is not. The Death Penalty reiterates in the language of religion, humanity, and the scientific study by criminologists that the death penalty is totally unacceptable to those who believe in the sanctity of human life and the right to life. Pragmatically, it does nothing to deter crime and tends rather to deaden the sensibilities of people. Capital punishment is quite simply an act of vengeance. James Megivern's book gives us the facts and the spirit behind those facts. It gives the nuances, the gradual and at times surprising developments over a long period of history. This book is highly researched and documented. It also provides a splendid bibliography. No wonder it was awarded First Place in the "Theology" category of the Catholic Press Association's 1998 Book awards.

-Patricia Kelly

Patricia Kelly, O.C.D., is a Carmelite nun and a member of the Reno, Nevada, Carmelite monastery.