On The Front Lines
Faith and the Death Penalty: Two Leading Activists Speak Out in oldSpeak Online Magazine
oldSpeak Publishes Opposing Viewpoints by Charles W. Colson and Bryan A. StevensonCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--oldSpeak, an online publication of The Rutherford Institute, this week presents opposing viewpoints on capital punishment by leading prison outreach activists Charles W. Colson and Bryan A. Stevenson. After a year in which the death penalty has come under close scrutiny--two district court judges declared the death penalty unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against executing the mentally retarded, and Maryland followed Illinois in declaring a moratorium--the pace at which executions are carried out in America remains at an all-time high.
Charles W. Colson, once an outspoken opponent of the death penalty during his stint in the Nixon White House, has since altered his stance on capital punishment. After serving a seven-month prison term on obstruction of justice charges during the Watergate investigation and converting to Christianity, Colson became a leading activist for prison outreach, founding Prison Fellowship Ministries, a northern Virginia-based nonprofit ministry for prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families. In recent years, he has become an increasingly vocal advocate of capital punishment. "On the whole, the full range of biblical data weighs in its favor," writes Colson.
Bryan A. Stevenson, who graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Government, has represented capital defendants and death row prisoners in the Deep South. He is executive director of the Equal Justice Institute in Montgomery, Ala., a nonprofit organization that represents indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair treatment in the legal system. Writing in oldSpeak, Stevenson cites statistics that indicate capital punishment is unfairly applied. He also points out inconsistencies in many Christians' perception of the death penalty. "I have represented dozens of people on death row, many of whom were very disturbed and many who should be imprisoned--some for the rest of their lives," writes Stevenson. "However, I've never met anyone about whom I could say this life has no value or purpose or meaning."
oldSpeak is dedicated to publishing interviews, articles and commentary on subjects often overlooked by the mainstream media in the areas of politics, arts and culture, law and religion. The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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