What Does the Lord Require? by Walter C. Kaiser

Author:Walter C. Kaiser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Baker Academic & Brazos Press
Published: 2009-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

10

CRIME AND

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Genesis 9:5–6; John 8:1–11

Crime Defined

“Crime occurs when an act is committed, or omitted, in violation of public law deemed necessary for the protection and general welfare of persons governed by such law.”1 Accordingly, such antisocial acts as rape, treason, murder, or burglary each require punishments set by society. The desire is not for revenge primarily but to obtain justice for as many persons as possible. The hope is to ameliorate these acts of injustice as much as possible in this life through the courts established by human governments.

The Cost of Crime

In 1994 crime in America could almost be counted with the ticking of the clock: one murder every twenty-two seconds, one rape every five minutes, one robbery every forty-nine seconds, with a cost that is almost too staggering to comprehend. Americans put out an amazing $674 billion each year for the costs of crime, including $78 billion for the criminal justice system, $64 billion for private protection, $202 billion in loss of life and work, $120 billion in crimes aimed at businesses, $60 billion in stolen goods, $40 billion from drug abuse, and $110 billion from drunk driving.2

The general public and Christians today have learned to live with crime and to lock up doors, windows, and cars, and to install alarms on houses, cars, and everything else, while also often living in gated communities. Despite reports every once in a while that the crime rate is declining, the fact is that since 1960 the crime rate nationally has steadily risen some 300 percent with the largest increase coming in the category of violent crimes, some 550 percent. To our shame, the United States has the worst violent crime rate of any other industrialized country.3

The Reasons for the Increase in Crime

Much of the blame for the increase in the crime rate is to be found in these facts: (1) the median age of criminals is getting younger and younger each year, (2) the use of drugs among early teens increases the potential for crime, and (3) the introduction of the gun culture (not to mention the proliferation of automatic weapons) has brought with it wars between gangs over turfs and drugs.

Some would want to view crime as an irrational act. This may be true of some crimes of passion or of drug-related crimes, but most crimes are calculated decisions often based on the probability of being arrested as weighed against the possible profit that could come from the crime. Some alarming statistics say that three out of four convicted criminals are not incarcerated and that only one in ten serious crimes results in imprisonment.4 In another study carried out by Morgan Reynolds of Texas A&M University, 98 percent of all burglaries never result in a jail sentence, only 2 percent serve time, and the average time served is only thirteen months!5

Add to all of these statistics the fact that currently the recidivism rate (repeated relapse into crime) in the United States is 70 to 80 percent, and the task becomes enormous for society and the church.

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