Capital punishment

Capital punishment (commonly referred to as the death penalty) is the execution of a convicted criminal, carried out by a State. The punishment is applied in cases where someone has commited one or more capital crimes or capital offenses (i.e. murder, treason). The definition of a capital crime varies from country to country.

Capital punishment in the Bible

Old Testament

Supporters of capital punishment point to Genesis 9:6, which states:
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image."

This article or section is a stub (i.e., in need of additional material). You can help OrthodoxWiki by expanding it.

Other Resources

• Catholicism & Capital Punishment by Avery Cardinal Dulles, First Things 112 (April 2001): 30-35 (one Roman Catholic viewpoint)
• Capital punishment on Wikipedia