It is sad to read that the foreign press and the governments of Israel and Germany view the United States as a place where Capital Punishment is "Routinely used."
The theocratic government of Israel rarely uses Capital Punishment this German news article states. And the foreign ministers are asking that the precedent be kept.
The proponents of Capital Punishment in the U.S. that I hear say they stand on the Hebrew Scripture which paraphrased says, "Punishment is an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
20th and 21st century advocates I hear say this is justification for, "a life for a life" and the death at the hands of the State of a person convicted of homicide by the State.
It completely ignores the religious teaching I was taught by my Christian theologians that this scripture is an example of moderation and forgiveness. Demonstrating that punishment should fit the crime and not exceed the damage done. Moreover the teaching of Jesus' time on earth was entirely centered on forgiveness, and love of one's enemies. So, how can Capital Punishment stand in any light except base revenge. A cruel and unusual punishment for a society which holds itself to the high standard of being the refuge of freedom and the city built on a hill so all can see it's light.
POLITICSISRAEL
Germany tells Israel death penalty would be a mistake
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday said she had conveyed strong objections to Israel over its plans to introduce mandatory death penalties for people convicted of terrorist killings of Israeli citizens.
She spoke after a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, with a first vote on capital punishment expected to take place in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Wednesday.
Baerbock said Germany was consistent in its approach to the death penalty and made this point regularly to other allies — such as G7 members the United States and Japan — who still routinely use capital punishment.
"We are firmly opposed to the death penalty, and we are raising this issue all over the world," Baerbock said at a press conference in Berlin alongside her Israeli counterpart, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government.
"All over the world, states are in the process of abandoning this cruel practice, partly because it has been proven that it is not effective as a deterrent," Baerbock said.
The foreign minister said it was a credit to Israel that, despite the considerable terrorist threats it has long faced, the country's civilian courts had imposed capital punishment only once: against the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in the 1960s.
"That has always been an impressive argument for those of us who have defended Israel on the international stage against unfair criticism," Baerbock said. "I, therefore, say as a friend: I am convinced that it would be a big mistake to break with this history."
The Israeli penal code theoretically includes provisions for capital punishment but only in rare cases.
Baerbock's comments came after the Israeli Cabinet nodded through a bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists found guilty of killing Israeli citizens. The legislation must still pass several readings by lawmakers before it can be enacted. There have been previous attempts to pass such bills in Israel, and this one is regarded as unlikely to succeed. Members of ultra-Orthodox coalition parties are expected to vote against it for religious reasons.
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LAW AND JUSTICEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA
US man executed for 1996 murder after Supreme Court ruling
The US state of Alabama executed an man by lethal injection on Thursday, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state.
The Supreme Court rejected claims by the defense that the man's intellectual disability misled him to accept death by the "torturous" lethal injection rather than an alternative method that had recently been legalized.
A lower court had temporarily blocked the execution after the man said the state did not help him understand the option of being executed via nitrogen hypoxia, said the New York Post.
Matthew Reeves, 43, was put to death at Holman Prison and pronounced dead at 9:24 p.m. local time, state Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement.
Execution after 26 years
Reeves was convicted for killing cab driver Willie Johnson Jr. with a shotgun in 1996. He robbed Johnson, who had given him a ride, of $360 (around €320 today) and went to a party afterwards, to celebrate the killing. A witness said Reeves' hands were still stained with blood at the party, where he mimicked Johnson's death convulsions.
Some of Johnson's family witnessed the execution. "After 26 years justice [has] finally been served. Our family can now have some closure," they said in a statement.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement that the execution "is fair, and tonight, justice was rightfully served." She added that the victim was a "good Samaritan lending a helping hand," who was brutally murdered.
Use of lethal injection
In 2018, Alabama death row inmates had a chance to sign a form choosing either lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Reeves was one of the inmates who had not filled out the form.
"The immense authority of the Supreme Court should be used to protect its citizens, not to strip them of their rights without explanation," Reeves' attorneys said.
They claimed Reeves, who had rudimentary language skills, did not receive proper explanation of the choice of nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method.
The court overruled a decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled on Wednesday that a district judge didn't use his discretion in ruling that the state couldn't execute Reeves by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia.
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