For a very long time punishment has been accepted as the best way to deter crime. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that even the bible supports the idea of punishment for lawbreakers as deterrence to wrongdoing. The question of what Christians think about this matter arises; that is, should all Christians support it? Perhaps the best answer for this is that whatever the take, it should not be divisive at all from all those arguing from far ends of the spectrum. This is because the bible has already covered this issue and supports punishment as a deterrent.
Punishment is a deterrent to crime. The bible gives several stories where God used punishment to deter crime. For instance, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sins that were being committed. He also punished people by death whenever people sinned against him. This answer should not alter our view on this issue in any way but should rather serve the purpose of pointing out the importance of capital punishment in reprimanding wrong doers. Most importantly, we have to observe that a Christian’s take on capital punishment should base on the teachings of the bible but not a practicable evaluation of whether or not capital punishment deters crime.
Dr. Isaac Ehrlich of the University of Chicago carried out a statistical analysis, which suggested that punishment is indeed a deterrent. While his findings were vehemently opposed, a thorough analysis of the same has proved his assertions based on his findings. His work points out that if punishment, especially death penalty can be used in a more consistent manner, it may deter crime in a big way. If the numbers he mentions can be believed to be precise, it points out that punishment could indeed be an important deterrent crime in the society.
Capital punishment is indeed an effective way to deter crime. The people who have been opposing punishment as a deterrent to crime have been basing their assertions on the argument that where it has been practiced the rates of crime have risen. It has to be noted that the rates of crime have been rising in the United States. This however should not mean that punishment is failing as a deterrent. There could be other factors that lead to the same and should not be related to capital punishment. There is sufficient evidence that punishment is a deterrent. The effects of deterrence through punishments are immense and should be carried out now and in future. As a support to the criminal justice code, it will be significant to make sure that biblical injunctions are followed to deter crime.
There is no way that capital punishment can be used as deterrence for all the crimes that are being committed. Psychotic and crazy murderers, organized gangs, and street gangs will still go on with their activities whether capital punishment continues to be carried out or not. Any irrational and thoughtless people who feel like engaging in criminal acts will do so whether or not a punishment is imposed. However, existing social statistics as well as respected logic points to the fact that normal individuals will be deterred from crime since capital punishment remains an element within the criminal code and has the biblical support.