Botched Execution
A capital punishment went awry in Tennessee last week. Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder in 1995 and sentenced to death, was given two doses of a drug intended to be lethal but was transported to the hospital after losing consciousness but remaining alive. Pike was to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended the one remaining execution scheduled for this year, pending a third-party review of the state’s procedure.
Analysis and eternal perspective: This is a deeply disturbing story spanning more than three decades. The victim in this case, Colleen Slemmer, was just 19-years-old when she was murdered, and this week’s events bring that memory roaring back to life for her family. Our community should be in fervent prayer for the Slemmer family.
Next, this story highlights a wide spectrum of sincerely held opinions about the death penalty among both policymakers and Jesus followers. For those of us looking to scripture as our ultimate authority, opponents of the death penalty will point to the truth that every person is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and that God desires that none should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Proponents will point to the Old Testament directive that a murderer should be put to death (Ex. 21:12) and the New Testament principle that rulers should bear the sword against evildoers (Rom. 13:3-4).
These are incredibly divisive questions, and deeply consequential ones. We should be engaging with them seriously, soberly, and with a desire to learn more for the purpose of securing sound public policy.
Even more critical, we should be inclining our hearts toward both the victimized (Ps. 34:18) and the lost (Lk. 19:10). We have a mandate to come to the defense of the oppressed and to be intolerant of injustice. In doing so, we must also be mindful of the radical forgiveness that was afforded us. There are long-lasting consequences to sin and evil, but by the grace of God, your sins and mine have been forgiven. Our primary earthly mission is to tell of that grace and mercy we have received, and to make known its availability to those still in need of it.