I am writing this article to help clarify things in my own mind as much as for anyone else's benefit. It is of course a highly emotive subject and one which has concerned me for many years. In trying to answer the question, "What should happen to convicted murderers?" , I am not the slightest bit interested in offering my own personal opinion. Indeed, on this and many other issues, I am weary of the opinions of men, no matter how well thought out or well intentioned they may be. I am a committed Christian and as such above everything else I want to know God's opinion on this very important subject.

Right at the outset I need to say that I am not a theologian, or indeed a scholar of any kind. I am an ordinary bloke with a deep concern about the subject. I am, as I said, a Christian and as such I have been in relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ for over 35 years.
Hopefully during that time I have come to know god a little and to feel a bit of his heart in certain situations. With regard to matters such as life and death I feel these are very important issues that relate to God himself.
They are sacred topics which affect the whole world and the societies in which we live.

I have to admit that I have through the years changed my stance on the matter of capital punishment. I have, since becoming a Christian, tried to reflect God's heart on this and many other matters. As a young Christian however I just had a few Scriptures at my disposal like "You shall not kill"
and "Whoever has anger in his heart is guilty of murder" to back up my mainly sentimental approach to this question. I had an impression of an all forgiving God (which he is) who was a big softy (which he most certainly is
not) who would not dream of appointing any of us to execute in cold blood another of his created human beings. I have, as I said, changed my mind on this however and set out below the reasons why I now do believe in capital punishment.

I begin by stressing this great truth - GOD IS LOVE. God's character is love and as such it is impossible for him to act in anyway contrary to his character. All of his laws and judgements are completely just and true. He does everything out of a heart of love.

Having firmly established that overriding truth on the foundation of love let us now look at the issues involved.

Firstly the victims of murder. These are the person who has been murdered along with their grieving family and friends. God loves them, he promises to comfort them in their mourning and he wants them to have justice.
Justice is an important part of the healing process. Grieving people need to feel that appropriate punishment has been meted out to the person who has violated them so deeply. I make the point again that God is both loving and just at all times. There is no way in my mind that I can conceive that putting a person into prison to serve a term for murder is sufficient justice for the victims of such an heinous crime as murder. I can only imagine that if one of my family was murdered and the convicted killer was in prison, my mind would be in turmoil thinking about that person, wondering what they are doing, when they will be coming out etc. In other words there is no closure to the nightmare. If capital punishment were the sentence then relatives and friends would feel in part compensated for the loss of their loved one and would in time be able to bring some kind of resolution to their suffering. As things stand at the moment, with our soft laws, there can be no end to that suffering for the victims of the crime of murder.