A Rabbi's Reflections

“The Value of Life” 
"One who saves a single human life ­ it is as if he has saved the entire world." (Mishnah Sanhedrin)

I have always found these words compelling.  Our tradition  reminds us again and again that every human life is precious.  Almost any of the mitzvot can be set aside in order to save the precious life of another human being.  We are taught to cherish and preserve life at nearly all costs.  I believe this should apply as broadly as possible.  Ideally, we ought to strive never to take a human life, and we should do everything we can to save the life of every human being. 

Throughout human and Jewish history, however, such values have come into conflict with those which affirm the right of a society to take the life of those who commit offenses worthy of capital punishment.  Some rules are so important, we are told, that those who break them lose their right to life. Some societies choose to rid themselves of those who break  such rules rather than bearing the cost of imprisoning or rehabilitating these individuals.

True, our Torah is filled with offenses punishable by death. We are taught to put to death one who takes the life of another, one who engages in male homosexuality, one who profanes the Sabbath, a son who is defiant to his parents. . . . The list goes on and on.  But it is troubling when these ancient verses, which I believe reflect a time and culture different from our own, are used by literalists to justify their own political agenda.

For nearly two millennia Jewish tradition has dismissed the notion of capital punishment.  For example, the rabbis and sages of the Talmud go to great lengths to demonstrate that the Torah intended to make the requirements for capital punishment so severe as to preclude it from ever being carried out.

For someone to be convicted of capital murder, he must have been warned in advance that if he commits the crime he will be put to death, and his guilt must be proved by two independent witnesses giving identical testimony.

Clearly, the rabbis were reluctant to enact capital punishment if there was any doubt whatsoever!  At one point in the Talmud the rabbis even debate as to who is most opposed to capital punishment.

Which brings us to the State of North Carolina.  I would like to invite you to join me in supporting the efforts of a growing group of citizens in our state calling upon our State Legislature to enact a Moratorium on the Death Penalty.  Such a moratorium would call for a temporary halt to executions in light of a growing body of evidence that the death penalty is administered unfairly.  Our concern is primarily about evidence that leads to doubt as to the justice of capital punishment.

What is that evidence?  The Charlotte Coalition for  Moratorium  now tells us that:

In North Carolina, black defendants who kill whites are three times more likely to face execution.

• During the past decade "just 40 percent of all murder victims in the Carolinas were white, but in cases of inmates now on death row, nearly 70% of the murder victims were white."
• North Carolina spends $2.16 million more to execute someone than to sentence them to life.
• The Charlotte Observer reported in September 2000 that "in at least five North Carolina cases, the prosecutors withheld evidence that might have helped the defense."
• In February 2001, DNA evidence freed two innocent people who were on death row convicted of rape.
  More that 60% of North Carolinians support a moratorium on executions.
• More than 215 men and women await execution on North Carolina¹s death row. Just a decade ago there were only 80 on death row. For them, a moratorium can¹t come soon enough.

If you share my concern about this injustice, please consider writing a letter to these your state senator or representative. In particular, you might want to write to:

The Honorable. . . .

Senator Marc Basnight, Room 2007 Legislative Office Bldg, Raleigh NC 27601
Senator Robert Rucho,  400 Trafalgar Place, Matthews, NC 28105
Rep. James Black,  417 Lynderhill Lane, Matthews, NC 28105

Urge them to support the two year moratorium on the death penalty.  In doing so, I believe we will be honoring the highest possible values of our faith.

James M. Bennett