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God And The Executioner: The Influence Of Western Religion On The Use Of The Death Penalty, Davison M. Douglas
God And The Executioner: The Influence Of Western Religion On The Use Of The Death Penalty, Davison M. Douglas
Davison M. Douglas
In this Essay, Professor Douglas conducts an historical review of religious attitudes toward capital punishment and the influence of those attitudes on the state's use of the death penalty. He surveys the Christian Church's strong support for capital punishment throughout most of its history, along with recent expressions of opposition from many Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups. Despite this recent abolitionist sentiment from an array of religious institutions, Professor Douglas notes a divergence of opinion between the "pulpit and the pew" as the laity continues to support the death penalty in large numbers. Professor Douglas accounts for this divergence by …
Capital Punishments And Religious Arguments: An Intermediate Approach, Samuel J. Levine
Capital Punishments And Religious Arguments: An Intermediate Approach, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Determining the place and use of capital punishment in the American legal system is a challenging affair and one that is closely associated with and determined by religion's role in American legal decision-making. Both capital punishment and religion are controversial issues, and tend to challenge legal scholars and practitioners about whether they should function together or alone as valid parts of the legal system in the United States. Professor Levine argues that religious arguments should be employed to interpret and explain American legal thought when the need or proper situation arises. He uses capital punishment as an example of how …