Comments on: Richardson Ends Death Penaty In New Mexico http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/2009/03/gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico News & Commentary About All Things Baptist Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:32:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Bart Barber http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/2009/03/gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico.html#comment-24415 Bart Barber Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:11:56 +0000 http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/?p=1926#comment-24415 I am not an opponent of the death penalty. I believe that the New Testament explicitly acknowledges in (confers upon?) the magistrate the bearing of the sword as an agent of God's vengeance. That said, I'm thankful for any government that does not bear the sword in a cavalier fashion, but that instead recognizes that the magistrate, too, will give an account to God for the discharge of this duty. So, I am thankful for any level of severe circumspection that Gov. Richardson or anyone else in such a position of authority might undergo in the supervision of this difficult task. For New Mexico to undergo a time period without capital punishment and to seek a higher level of reliability in the state's administration of justice could be a good thing. Capital punishment is not gone away forever in New Mexico, nor anywhere. Unfortunately, if the state does not avenge criminal actions, people will either do so on their own or change the government. Government is our best defense against vigilanteism. When crime rates go up in New Mexico, and when administrations change, some form of capital punishment will return to the Land of Enchantment. I am not an opponent of the death penalty. I believe that the New Testament explicitly acknowledges in (confers upon?) the magistrate the bearing of the sword as an agent of God’s vengeance. That said, I’m thankful for any government that does not bear the sword in a cavalier fashion, but that instead recognizes that the magistrate, too, will give an account to God for the discharge of this duty.

So, I am thankful for any level of severe circumspection that Gov. Richardson or anyone else in such a position of authority might undergo in the supervision of this difficult task. For New Mexico to undergo a time period without capital punishment and to seek a higher level of reliability in the state’s administration of justice could be a good thing.

Capital punishment is not gone away forever in New Mexico, nor anywhere. Unfortunately, if the state does not avenge criminal actions, people will either do so on their own or change the government. Government is our best defense against vigilanteism. When crime rates go up in New Mexico, and when administrations change, some form of capital punishment will return to the Land of Enchantment.

]]> By: Michael Westmoreland-White http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/2009/03/gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico.html#comment-23031 Michael Westmoreland-White Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:56:30 +0000 http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/?p=1926#comment-23031 The NH House has just repealed the death penalty and the NH Senate is expected to follow suit. Gov. Lynch (D-NH) has promised to veto it--which is what happened when NH voted for repeal in the '90s. It was vetoed by then-Gov. (now Sen.) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). NH remains opposed to the death penalty. Will the citizens push Gov. Lynch to sign, making NH the 3rd state (after NJ and NM) to abolish the death penalty since <i>Gregg v. Georgia</i> in 1976? Is '09 the tipping year for dp abolition in the U.S.? The NH House has just repealed the death penalty and the NH Senate is expected to follow suit. Gov. Lynch (D-NH) has promised to veto it–which is what happened when NH voted for repeal in the ’90s. It was vetoed by then-Gov. (now Sen.) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). NH remains opposed to the death penalty. Will the citizens push Gov. Lynch to sign, making NH the 3rd state (after NJ and NM) to abolish the death penalty since Gregg v. Georgia in 1976?

Is ’09 the tipping year for dp abolition in the U.S.?

]]> By: Michael Westmoreland-White http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/2009/03/gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico.html#comment-21972 Michael Westmoreland-White Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:52:07 +0000 http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/?p=1926#comment-21972 I have urged those who share my anti-death penalty views (this cause has been a passion of mine since my teens--long before I became a pacifist or conscientious objector) to contact Gov. Richardson and thank him. Any kind of prison reform or related work by a U.S. politician takes political courage. So such courageous acts deserve our thanks and praise. We are now struggling for a moratorium on executions and death sentences here in KY while a commission studies the death penalty and reports back to the legislature. I have urged those who share my anti-death penalty views (this cause has been a passion of mine since my teens–long before I became a pacifist or conscientious objector) to contact Gov. Richardson and thank him.

Any kind of prison reform or related work by a U.S. politician takes political courage. So such courageous acts deserve our thanks and praise.

We are now struggling for a moratorium on executions and death sentences here in KY while a commission studies the death penalty and reports back to the legislature.

]]> By: gamountainman http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/2009/03/gov-richardson-ends-death-penaty-in-new-mexico.html#comment-21931 gamountainman Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:53:45 +0000 http://www.thebigdaddyweave.com/?p=1926#comment-21931 Most maximum security prisons appear to me to be a fate worse than death. It me such a prison would be the death penalty. I think I would prefer death by lethal injection to life in such a place. I have never seen the death penalty to be more than just punishment for a most heinous crime. It certainly doesn't deter crime. Most maximum security prisons appear to me to be a fate worse than death. It me such a prison would be the death penalty. I think I would prefer death by lethal injection to life in such a place. I have never seen the death penalty to be more than just punishment for a most heinous crime. It certainly doesn’t deter crime.

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