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Just some of the array of devices that have been employed for state sponsored execution.

What Is Capital Punishment?

Capital Punishment is the taking of a person's life by the State in response to that person's apparent infringement of the State's laws. It's use has been common in many cultures until recent times, and although less popular than it has been, is still used in quite a number of states in the present day. It is usually reserved for the most heinous crimes: treason and murder, but has been used for less serious crimes, even robbery.

To cut to the heart of this matter capital punishment is a form of State Sanctioned Murder. Murder by the State, for the State. A life for a life.

Can one murder undo another?
Does killing in return bring the State down to the level of the criminal?
Does showing mercy elevate us to the level of a saint?
Is society better with it or without it?

Many people have argued these questions through the years, often referring to outdated religious texts for guidance. It is indeed the place of the Church as moral arbiter to decide whether such action is acceptable, however different texts provide different views and different views may suit different cultures. Notwithstanding all this, The Church Of Infinite Dimensions, as the most modern and rational religion on the planet today, sees fit to provide its own analysis and guidance in this crucial matter.

Why Execute

There are many reasons why the State may wish to execute it's evil doers:

To ensure the evil doer never re-offends

No matter the apparent security of the jail there is always the possibility of escape for the determined recalcitrant. Furthermore there is always the possibility that the malefactor will reoffend in jail. Steel bars don't represent the absolute guarantee of offence prevention.

The malefactor is not just imprisoned by bars, more importantly he is also imprisoned by the law. We can't trust legal system not to release the evil doer at some later stage, whence he may reoffend. No matter the law at the time of sentence, there is the chance that it will be changed in time as the pendulum of social conscience swings from one extreme to the other.

Death is the only absolute guarantee that the malefactor will not reoffend.

For revenge

Revenge is seen by many today as crude, ugly and non-productive, a relic of our animal past that we should all rise above. Much the same argument is used about sex in certain inhibited quarters. This Church believes in celebrating all of humanity, not just the intellectual and pretty bits. We are beasts still! We know fear, lust, greed and the desire to fight. Such emotions may indeed be considered base, yet they are undoubtedly ours. To deny them is to thrust them into our subconscious where they will only do greater harm. We should allow them egress, but in a controlled way that doesn't damage the intelligent society created by our higher thoughts.

Think of the happiness that revenge can bring. Imagine how therapeutic it would be for loved ones to see the one that killed their loved one die. This would provide "closure" for them that a prison sentence cannot. There is something primal and absolute in the notion of "a life for a life". No one can deny that it is justice. It may even be good for the victim's loved ones to execute the evil one themselves.

It is not only the victim's family and friends that want revenge, the public at large who have been horrified by some barbaric crime want to see death as well. To see it may be therapeutic for them also, and they may feel more confident in the process of law, knowing that justice has been done.

If people want revenge, and the death is justice, should it not be granted?

To provide security for the criminals intended victims

For a person who knows that an imprisoned evil doer has them on his revenge list, bars and a long sentence do not grant entire peace of mind and freedom from fear. They know that there is a chance that this person will be released one day and that their nightmare will begin all over again.

Why should an innocent person be forced to suffer this permanent anxiety, when the criminal's death would assuredly remove it?

To save public money

Consider the cost of imprisoning a criminal for a long time. It is a significant burden on the tax payer. The criminal has damaged society, why should society then pay more to maintain that person? Handing out death cuts the cost of housing and looking after the very evil.

If people point to expense of extra appeals, then streamline the legal system, don't let the tail wag the dog. If most verdicts are overturned on appeal that merely shows that the courts are incompetent, again, fix the problem, not the symptom.

To dissuade others from committing such crimes

Often used in the past as a major justification for capital punishment, the evidence shows that it doesn't work as a deterrent. Dissuasion is no argument for capital punishment.

To provide extra incentive for people to give evidence

Consider what you would think, were you a witness called to testify against a very evil man, knowing that if this man regained his liberty one day he would surely come looking for you, or perhaps his friends might, even while he is in jail they might. It takes a lot of courage to face such a threat, and it's easy to take the safe way out and just say nothing, especially when the victim is not your loved one.

A witness in this situation will be less worried about retribution from criminal if he is certain of the death penalty. Dead men don't murder and their friends are less likely to worry about you once he is dead. This can be an important incentive in getting an evil doer convicted in a court of law. No death penalty, no conviction. It can happen.

Death may be more humane than life in prison

As far as I can see from the outside, prison life is not regarded as desirable. I doubt that there are many inmates that would not choose to leave if they were given the option. In some cases prison may even be regarded as hell, depending on the prison in question and the particular inmate. If prison is hard to put up with for a year or two, how terrible must it be for life?

This Church holds that we have infinite lives. Death is a doorway, not a problem. Quality of life is more important than quantity. It may be that death is more humane than life behind bars.

It is appropriate that he that kills should in turn be killed

As I have said already, there is something absolute about "a life for a life". Many may consider it barbaric but none can deny that it is justice. There is a certain symmetry that has an air of "rightness" about it. It is appropriate.

It may allow the guilty to face their crime and make their peace with themselves

Samuel Johnson said: "Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully." Of course, just because the great Samuel Johnson said it doesn't make it true necessarily, but there is no doubt that death does add a certain gravitas to one's thought. Faced with death a person is compelled to shed his falsehood. No matter the evil perpetrated by a person they still remain human, at least to themselves if no one else. While life continues they may be able to avoid the contemplation of their wrong doing; since society is not going to mete out true justice, why should they put it upon themselves? But when they are faced with the final penalty, they may at last face what they have done.

This Church holds that a moment's resolution within the soul of a malefactor where they take true responsibility for what they have done adds sweetness to the end of the life of that agu. That moment's sweetness is worth far more than a worthless life in jail avoiding responsibility. Quality not quantity. The Uru is better for it.

Why Not Execute

You may be executing the innocent

Far and away the strongest argument against capital punishment is that the State may execute an innocent man. There are numerous problems with the judicial process in all nations, not the least of which is the fallibility of a jury, which may result in innocent people being convicted. It is bad enough that innocent people are forced to spend time in jail, to execute them is unacceptable! Such things have been shown to have happened, which is a major reason why capital punishment has been banned in so many parts of the world.

If this Church is to countenance the use of capital punishment it needs to be certain that the innocent will not be convicted. This requires a higher standard of proof than that currently exercised by the courts. The "beyond reasonable doubt" standard is the correct wording but is not correctly applied by the humans in the process, especially by the jury who don't, in general, have the competence to correctly weigh the evidence.

Perhaps what is required for capital punishment cases is a "no doubt" standard. Evidence that would satisfy this standard could be laid down. This might include:

multiple eye-witnesses,
court-room confession with supporting evidence,
quality film evidence,
quality DNA evidence
etc.

If we can be certain that the innocent will not be found guilty, then this argument against capital punishment is obviated.

Capital punishment brutalities society causing more murders, rapes etc

This argument would need to be proven before it could be given credence.

It might be that countries that employ the death penalty may be more brutal than those who don't, but this is unlikely to be because of the death penalty, it is far more likely to be the other way around.

Execution denies the possibility of rehabilitation

This Church rejoices in the idea of an agu turning away from evil, improving itself and making a positive contribution to the community. The Church of Infinite Dimensions is not vindictive, it is interested in achieving the most harmonious and liberating environment for all. If a malefactor has truly changed and will be an asset to society it may be mete for him to be forgiven, freed and reintegrated. Certainly, under normal circumstances, rehabilitation is a path devoutly to be wished. HOWEVER, these are not normal circumstances.

There are more people to consider in such cases than just the perpetrator. No matter how truly he may have repented, no matter how genuine his desire to do only good, society may be better served by his execution. The benefit to the victim's family and friends, and to society in general, in seeing justice done, will generally outweigh the good that may be achieved by the possibility of the evil doer's rehabilitation.

It is a violation of human rights

Certainly it is a right in the eyes of this Church, for all agu to be free to go about their lives without the threat of murder hanging over their heads. And this includes state sponsored murder such as capital punishment. However, in the eyes of this same Church, anyone committing truly heinous acts has abrogated his claim to that right and many others besides.

Execution leaves the door open for politically motivated disposal of opponents

Certainly a system of capital punishment is open to abuse by a corrupt State & Judiciary. Execution by a political party of innocents, simply to eliminate competition is unacceptable to this Church. As are all abuses of Democracy. However this is merely another example of the tail wagging the dog. It is a basic Computer Science principle: You don't remove a good system just because the implementation of some part of it is problematic. You fix the problem!

The problem here is with the democracy in question. It is not a proper democracy. Fix the democracy and the corruption will be reduced. This is also an illustration of why it is necessary to keep the Judiciary entirely separate from the State Executive.

It doesn't dissuade others from doing same

Evidence suggests that killing murderers doesn't prevent other's murdering. It is a pity that capital punishment doesn't work as a deterrent, alas! However, negating an argument that may be used by the "pro" side, does not, in this instance, provide an argument for the negative.

In short: "It doesn't dissuade others?", "So what."

The majority are against it

The majority appear to be against it in the states where it is banned, but for it in states where it is used. What does this say? That the Governments have implemented the will of the people? or that the people have adopted the will of the Governments? Certainly one cannot say that world wide people are firmly against capital punishment.

Even if the majority of humans were against it, this would not be a cogent argument in the eyes of this Church. This church is not driven by the whims of the majority, it offers moral guidance to the masses, it leads it doesn't follow. It is not a democratic institution in the fullest sense of the word, even though it advocates democracy externally. In matters of ethics this Church doesn't care what the majority think, and this applies to capital punishment.

It leads to "Death Row Phenomenon"

Death Row Phenomenon is a form of mental illness caused by the prolonged nightmare of waiting to be executed. Malefactors waiting to be executed by the State may spend years on Death Row, while the bureaucratic apparatus of the Law creaks, dithers and farts. In the opinion of this Church such a thing is needlessly cruel and is unacceptable.

The waiting period must be kept short, no more than a month or two. The fact that there may be endless appeals and that the courts are tied up for months and years is a problem symptomatic of the great cancer that has invaded the vitals of the developed world's judicial systems. Appeals should be a rarity, NOT the norm, and there should NEVER be more than one appeal. Appeals should be scheduled, heard and decided within one month.

The legal system must be fixed! It's problems should not be used as an argument against capital punishment.

The Church's Position

Once you realise that the feelings of the victim's friends and family are of greater worth than those of the offender the course of justice is clear.

The Church of Infinite Dimensions believes that capital punishment is acceptable, even desirable, within certain very strict guidelines:

• The party to be executed must have committed one or more truly horrendous crimes without justification.
• There must be no doubt as to the party's guilt.
• The mode of execution must be humane. It should be quick and painless.
• There must be little delay between the time of sentence and the time of execution, even allowing for appeal.

Humanist Considerations

Death Row Time

The condemned party should not be left to wait for months or years before execution. No appeal should be granted without good reason, and no more than one appeal should be allowed. The time from sentence to execution should be no more than 2 months, even allowing for an appeal.

Execution Method

The method of execution must be agreed by medicos to be reliable, and painless or quick. Such methods might include lethal injection, a bullet to the medulla or the guillotine.

It is not acceptable that executions should be botched, take a long time or involve a great pain over a significant period. This Church countenances state-sponsored murder in very extreme circumstances, but it will not countenance torture. We have very advanced medical expertise, there is no excuse for not using it. Unreliable or lengthy methods of execution such as the Electric Chair, the Firing Squad or Hanging should not be used.

Grounds For Execution

This Church will only countenance capital punishment for crimes that are truly horrific, where there is no cogent justification in mitigation. For example:

• Serial killing to satisfy some personal fetish.
• Multiple murder on a single occasion without mitigation, for example: killing an entire family who disturbed you burgling their house.
• Cold blooded murder without a personal motive, for example: contract killing, or killing to impress people.
• Murder to remove a business competitor.
• Torture leading to murder, where the killing is for pleasure.
• Terrorist or treasonous murder, i.e. murder as an act of war or subterfuge away from a clear military front.
• Extreme assault and/or rape over multiple cases occasioning severe trauma.

Conversely there are offences that this Church believes DO NOT warrant capital punishment. These include:

• Desertion from the army, and other such military offences that would not warrant execution in the civilian world. If people don't want to fight that should be their choice.
• Murder of a long-term enemy who has made one's life a misery over a period of years, and whom one cannot escape, such as a violent and domineering husband or wife. This doesn't mean that this Church condones murder by the public where there is a cogent justification, it simply means it doesn't think such cases deserve the death penalty.

Conclusion

Capital Punishment has been around in most societies from before recorded history. It has been seen as a natural and valid instrument of the law in the past and is still seen that way in much of the world today.

There are many arguments for and against this practice but for this Church the weight is overwhelmingly in favour, provided certain matters are attended to.

The Church Of Infinite Dimensions is not squeamish and is not embarrassed by human nature. It considers revenge to be therapeutic and therefore a cogent justification for this controversial punishment. This Church considers that capital punishment is acceptable within certain stringent guidelines.