Christians Praise Ban on Death Penalty for Juveniles
"I thank God that the Supreme Court … has at long last ruled against the execution of persons under the age of 18"
United Methodist leaders joined pro-life advocates in praising Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision outlawing the execution of juvenile criminals, on statements released on Wednesday, March 2, 2005.
“I thank God that the Supreme Court … has at long last ruled against the execution of persons under the age of 18,” said the Rev. R. Randy Day, the top mission executive of the United Methodist Church.
“(We encourage) … guidance that will lead young people away from violence and crime, but we do not turn our backs on those who commit criminal acts, including murder,” said Day, who leads the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, which prioritizes ministries to children and young people worldwide. “The Bible and the church teach love, forgiveness and the opportunity for restoration even in cases of the worst offenders.”
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The high court’s 5-4 decision overturned a 1989 ruling that allowed the execution of murderers who committed their crimes as juveniles; under the new decision, 72 prisoners will be taken off death row.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said many juveniles lack sufficient maturity and intellectual development to understand the ramifications of their actions.
"The age of 18 is the point where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood. It is, we conclude, the age at which the line for death eligibility ought to rest," said Kennedy.
Kennedy also took note that the US was one of only a few countries that legalized executions of child offenders.
“It is proper that we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty, resting in large part on the understanding that the instability and emotional imbalance of young people may often be a factor in a crime,” Kennedy wrote.
Since 1990, the United States has accounted for almost half of the world’s 39 known executions of child offenders.
Nineteen states had allowed juvenile executions prior to Tuesday’s decision, but only three – Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia – had carried them out.
United Methodist leader, noting that the recent ruling is the second in the past several years to narrow the scope of the death penalty in the United States, said there is a shift in both public and judicial sentiments about the fairness of capital punishment in general, according to the United Methodist News Service.
“The pendulum has definitely begun to swing against the death penalty,” said Jim Winkler, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination’s social advocacy agency. “The death penalty is too flawed. People are feeling a real uneasiness about it.”
“It’s just savagery, really,” Winkler told United Methodist News Service.
Harmon Wray, the former head of the UMC’s restorative justice office, welcomed the ruling as an opportunity to better explore alternative forms of punishment – such as restorative justice – which he says are more consistent with the ministry of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Gospel, according to UMNS.
“It’s when crime is understood as a violation of another human being, not just breaking the law,” said Wray, who has worked on criminal justice concerns for 32 years.
“It defines accountability not as passively taking punishment but actively taking responsibility and trying to make amends,” he said. “It amounts to a focus on repairing the harm rather than seeking vengeance and a punitive response.”
The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and declares that “all human life is sacred and created by God.”
“We believe the death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings,” it says.
