death penalty news June 14, 2004
NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. Teen Says She Helped Kill Stepdad A 16-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to murdering her stepfather and will testify against her mother, who is accused of plotting the killing. Elizabeth Shannon admitted she shot Army Maj. David Shannon twice as he slept on July 23, 2002. Shannon, 40, was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg. Elizabeth Shannon pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and conspiracy. She will be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison if she cooperates in the prosecution of her mother, Joan Shannon, according to an agreement with prosecutors. Elizabeth Shannon told investigators she killed her stepfather because she was tired of her mother asking her to do it. She also said her mother gave her the gun. Prosecutor Greg Butler said that according to witnesses, Joan Shannon had tried for three months to find someone to kill her husband. One witness told investigators she saw Joan Shannon ask another person to kill her husband and promise to pay the person from insurance money. Joan Shannon, 37, is free on bail and living in Thaxton, Va., with her late husband's sister, Brenda Strong, who believes Elizabeth acted alone. Joan Shannon did not attend Friday's hearing, though her sister-in-law did. "Elizabeth cold-bloodedly planned the murder," Strong said. "She put the gun to the head of the man who raised her since she was 4 years old and pulled the trigger." No trial date has been set for Joan Shannon, who is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. It was the fifth domestic-related slaying linked to the base in June and July 2002. The other four involved Fort Bragg wives who were allegedly killed by their husbands. (source: AP) ==================== OKLAHOMA: OK CITY BOMBING CONSPIRATOR TERRY NICHOLS: T H E D E A T H P E N A L T Y Tim Talley, Associated Press, reports that "Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry L. Nichols may have been spared the death penalty for a second time because a jailhouse conversion to Christianity gained him sympathy from the jury, lawyers in the case said Saturday. "Defense Attorney Creekmore Wallace said Nichols's religious conversion is genuine, and that jurors may also have believed that Nichols was used by McVeigh, who was executed on federal murder charges on June 11, 2001." Events and the media have once again brought the death penalty issue to the fore. That should automatically flap a "moral / ethical flag" in the Christian's mentality. Do we or don't we? Does the Christian support the death penalty or does he not? In either case, why? And "why?" on biblical grounds--not emotional or opinionated or world-think grounds--but biblical grounds. Death penalty is a matter that does not call for much deliberation when one considers the revealed Word as our database for conclusion reaching. God has already answered the debate for us; therefore, it is up to the thinking person to reject or receive that divine revelation. In the Old Testament, God commanded the death penalty in twenty-some cases. This was not because God was barbaric, but because God was civil. The Israeli twelve tribes had no law enforcement agencies. Further, they were surrounded by barbarisms of strange magnitudes exhibited by neighboring pagan nations. Consequently, for God to establish an Israeli civil community, He set forth stringent punishments--some being the death penalty. He Himself became, in other words, the Law Enforcement Agency for the new nation of Israel. That chosen community thereby was to model morality / civility to the surrounding nations. Extremely severe penalties then were commanded by God in order to bring in line an Israeli community which tended to be unruly like its neighbors. If God had been lax in penalties, human nature, being what it is, would have tested gladly the boundaries. But when penalties were severe, human nature thought twice before testing the boundaries, hence the death penalty prescribed by God in some instances. However, once Israel lost its nationhood by "going a-whoring after other loves", Israel's civil structure disappeared. Israel as a nation lost its temple, its government--that is, its two primary components of culture--religion and politics. Pagan nations then ruled over the heretofore nation of God. In this loss was the disappearance of death penalties previously prescribed by God. The death penalty period as dictated by divine revelation, in other words, ended near the close of the Old Testament era. That is why when Jesus appeared as flesh-and-bones divine revelation, He pronounced, "You used to say, 'An eye for an eye', but now I say to you: Love your enemies." Jesus pronounced a civility of love toward one's enemies. "Love your foes, pray for your foes." This was the New Testament for it was now a new way of dealing with others--all others. Government was now established primarily within the believer rather than under Israeli kings. "The Kingdom of God is within you." Law was now primarily of the heart. "My law will be written on your hearts." That was the new politic. Further, the tabernacle was now primarily the human frame: "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." That was the new religion. Therefore, for the New Testament Church Age, it is the law of love toward all--friends and foes. Jesus provided a simply stated ethic. He refused to garble it with amendments. But, one may ask: "What about these atrocious crimes?" The biblical answer is still the same: love your friends and foes in Jesus. What kind of Christian love then can be shown to a multiple-murderer / rapist / arsonist / child molester? What kind of Christian love can be meted out to a Hitler? It is a Christian tough love. Tough love keeps the exceptional criminal alive but consigns that one to supervised environs without parole. Hopefully, even that exceptional criminal then may come upon redemption through Christ, yet never be placed in tempting circumstances whereby he again may do others and Himself harm. Keeping the individual alive also allows the possibility that, realizing human justice systems to be flawed, that person in truth may be found innocent though originally pronounced guilty. Indeed, the future may prove this to be fact if new evidence is forthcoming. History has case files on those in the aforementioned category. Reason this moral / ethical situation from God's perspective: Adam and Eve slew God's love when they played loose with Eden's snake. However, God did not slay them. Instead, God banished them to their own solitary isles of remorse, hoping at least for their eternal redemption. You once slew God's love by going your own stubborn way. In reality, you pronounced yourself Lord of your life. It is a hurtful truth to you now that you are a believer; nevertheless, living once in sin and for sin, you were once that calloused toward your own loving Creator. However, did God obliterate you? No, instead God searched you out, loved you even while you were enemy, in hopes of redeeming what was left of your destiny. He now invites each Christian to live out that same kind of persevering, at-times-tough love toward all others--especially those who are Enemy. God has already walked for us the path of love-for-foes. We, of all creatures, should know this for sure. Praise be to a loving, merciful God! He then invites us to join Him on that love path. He has walked it for us. He asks us now to walk it for others. (source: Commentary, MichNews, Michigan) ============================= USA: When a Book and a Movie is Not Enough: Dead Man Walking -- the Opera. Sister Helen Prejean?s story takes a musical turn Capital punishment is a complex issue regardless of your beliefs about it. Inevitably, each case has a cast of tragic characters, a terrible crime, social controversy and impending death. When you add in religion and chaste love, you have the makings of a story that transcends any format. Sister Helen Prejean?s account of her relationship with a death row inmate in the weeks before his execution, her struggle to come to terms with his crime and her uneasy truce with the victims is one of those tales. Reaching a large audience in the early 1990s with her book, "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," Prejean found herself on a national soapbox when Tim Robbins decided to make it into a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Complete with four Academy Award nominations and one win, the film was a knockout success with audiences and critics alike. Robbins, unlike Prejean, was careful to show a balanced perspective. There are many scenes where Robbins explores the complexities involved in finding justice in depth and, even though I was convinced that he was against capital punishment, the emotional needs and conclusions of the characters are all over the political map. This approach made the piece more thoughtful and credible. With all the discussions on Sister Prejean?s story that took place back in the 1990s, I was surprised to see a new treatment: "Dead Man Walking -- the Opera," composed by Jake Heggie with Terrence McNally as librettist. Commissioned by the San Francisco Opera in the late 1990s, it premiered there in 2000 to international acclaim. Recently, seven American opera companies co-commissioned a new production directed by Leonard Foglia. Following successful runs in New York, Cincinnati, Austin and Michigan, I attended the final performance in Pittsburgh Friday night, which included standing ovations for the cast and the conductor. The composer and Prejean were present in the audience and were called up on stage to be honored by the audience. "Dead Man Walking" is a grim story with few light moments. What better topic for an opera? The character of Prejean - torn between her horror of crime, her sympathy for the victims, her frustration with the system and the moral requirements of her faith - is a tragic figure. Underneath his sullen tough guy exterior, convicted murderer Joseph De Rocher is a scared and lonely man. The interplay between these two figures is perfect fodder for a theatrical stage. The music floats under the agony of their voices and beats on your heart like a metronome made of stone. The talent of the principles is unquestionable. This is Heggie?s first opera - clearly it won?t be his last. Make no mistake. This isn?t "Phantom of the Opera." You won?t walk away humming "Music of the Night." It?s not an enjoyable night. The tension tightens in your stomach like a spring. Even the oft repeated clich?, "the truth will set you free" is hollow and heartwrenching. Confession doesn?t bring salvation or forgiveness, execution doesn?t bring peace. Sorrow goes on forever. The victims are still dead. Their parents will never be grandparents. The mother of the murderers still faces a lifetime of guilt and pain. Prejean?s belief that accepting responsibility brings redemption or even peace of mind seems empty and unrealistic. Even as the final note fades away and the audience leaps to its feet screaming "Bravo," sadness fills the theater along with the applause. (source: The Celebrity Caf?)
