by Ben Ayuko
contact info: benayuko@gmail.com
{Photo courtesy of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee/Twitter}
The Tennessee governor, Bill Lee, has just approved a very interesting bill set to take effect on July 1st, 2024.
This bill legislates the approval of the death penalty for any human being convicted of crimes against children, rape especially. This means that any person convicted of child abuse can legally receive a sentence ranging from life in prison, life without possibility of parole or sentenced to death believed to be done by lethal injection. This, obviously begs the question, is this, okay?
Most people, I assume, would be of the frame of mind that anybody committing crimes against defenseless people/animals should get what is coming to them. It’s like in a movie, when the terrifying school bully comes across somebody tougher than him and is then humiliated in front of the very people he has been terrorizing. It’s karma at its finest. Tit for tat. An eye for an eye. It is fair.
However, there’s the school of thought that teaches, “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Teaches that one should learn to turn the other cheek. That murder is a sin directly opposed to the 6th commandment of God and anybody who partakes of it is irredeemable. It’s quite the moral dilemma.
What is the greater good? Is it the safety of the community or eternal life in heaven? Is it enough to simply repent? Will the pedophile be granted access to heaven after repenting the same way you would for murdering him? Could sacrificing your position by God’s side for safety of the community you live in be enough of a gesture for God to permit you into heaven?
It’s a lot to think about. But one thing that we can all agree on:
Nobody wants to live in a community with a child abuser.