What's Wrong: No Justice

Poll after poll reveals that one of American's greatest fears is crime. It seems to reach out and touch everyone of us in some way or another. The World Trade Center bombing. Oklahoma City. Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Concealed handgun permits. All are connected to our fear of crime and criminals. It certainly has not always been this way. Once the United States was known for a rough brand of "frontier justice" that assured evildoers that punishment awaited them. J. Edgar Hoover's "G-Men" were feared throughout the country as the ultimate weapon to bring criminals to justice. Alcatraz prison was once a thriving prison that stood solemnly to warn everyone that "crime doesn't pay." What has happened? Without fooling myself into thinking that I can answer such a complex question in a one-page article, let me spotlight three areas the Bible calls specific attention to regarding crime and punishment.

America has crime problems because it takes too long to get a criminal to trial and punishment. A recent study reported that the average death row inmate has been there seven years, with many criminals languishing there much longer. Paul Vanderbilt, Jr. abducted and murdered a sixteen-year-old girl. He has managed to stretch his appeals process out for twenty years! The sad truth is that when finally executed most people, particularly criminals, have completely forgotten the original crime, the horror and sadness it caused, and therefore do not and cannot view the execution as just punishment. The Bible speaks explicitly to this sad state of affairs: "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Criminals obviously are people who think only of themselves, and care nothing for others' rights or concerns. Therefore, in order to deter them from crime we must set up some means for causing them to ask "What is going to happen to me if I do this?" Endless appeals, long civil proceedings, and lengthy trials cause people to believe they can get away with their crimes. Sentences that are not executed speedily just cause more crime.

America has crime problems because we have forsaken the idea of punishment for rehabilitation. Most Americans believe that sending a criminal to prison is to punish him for his misdeeds. This is not so. We send criminals to prison to be rehabilitated. Sociologists who rejected biblical principles of sin, judgement and justice long ago persuaded our lawmakers that "anyone can be changed" and that "society has to help the criminal." Thus criminals are sent to prisons where they can be taught how to behave in society, learn a trade, go to college, etc. Contrast this kind of thinking with the justice system under Moses' Law. Try as one might, one will never read of jail or prisons in Israel. The concerns under Moses' Law were twofold: (1) restitution to the victim and (2) direct and immediate punishment of the offender. We chafe under the reading of the Old Law, with all its intricacies and details. Try reading those laws looking at them from a legal perspective. The assumption under Moses' Law was that the punishment was motivation not to commit the crime, and if one did it anyway, the punishment would be motivation for him or her to rehabilitate themselves. God's system was swift, effective, and sure. I have often wondered how many rebellious teens Israel had (see Deut. 21:18-21 where such was a capital offense). My guess is not many!

America has problems because it is unwilling to use capital punishment as it should. Incredibly, it took the jury in Denver two days to decide that the worst mass-murderer in America's history should be put to death. Capital punishment has become so entangled in legal maneuvering that it is nearly impossible to put even someone like Timothy McVeigh to death! Are we then surprised that criminals operate with bold-defiance of all law and authority? Regrettably, even some so-called Christians oppose the death penalty. The Reverend George Back, whose St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Oklahoma City was damaged by McVeigh's bomb, said he should not be put to death because "Vengeance is a power that hasn't been designated to man. We have to let God be the judge." Hasn't Mr. Back read Romans 13? "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God . . . For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." How can anyone say that God has not delegated the power of justice to men? Obviously, God did not intend to supernaturally intervene and judge every case so He ordained governments. It is their function to "bear the sword." This was true in the Old Testament, and remains true today. Paul was unafraid to die if he had committed a crime worthy of death (Acts 25:11). While we can make many arguments for the death penalty, such as its role in deterrence, the fact remains that the death penalty is just. It ought to be used for that reason alone. Capital punishment places the supreme value on human life by requiring life when one has taken others.' God gave capital punishment to government for this very reason. Many of America's justice problems are the result of our refusal to exercise this gift.

While in some ways we may feel powerless to help and aid our justice system, let us not forget the role we can play as model citizens, the value of exercising our right to vote for leaders that believe in biblical principles of government, and the power of praying for those who rule over us. In these ways we can help a country that certainly knows no peace because it knows no justice.