MennoLink Books and Music

For prisoners, the Victims' Voice program has given them the change in the healing process for victims' families.

From victimization to compassion...a story of hope. Discussion questions included.

"The death penalty is an act of rage. It is an act of revenge. But we have to remember truly what the death penalty is. The death penalty is...a staged political event."

"If you do forgive it doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you have any less respect for your loved one that was killed. If anything, it respects their lives more."

Wether you believe the death penalty is the ultimate punishment for murder or taking another's life is always wrong, Bud's story moves the debate over capital punishment from a philosophical discussion to a real-life level. Bud experienced terrible loss, yet opposes the loss of additional lives through the death penalty.

Discussions questions included.

Wangerin describes Elijah, a much-loved and very soft-hearted African American school principal, and his wife Mary, a strong and independent third-grade school teacher. We meet Elijah in his role as a school principal telling a student that he can't give her what she wants, but "I can give her the getting."

When Elijah undergoes surgery, he is told he has cancer and only a short time to live. As he wastes with surprising speed, he tells Pastor Walt, "You and I know what (my wife) needs. I can't give her what she needs, but I can give her the getting'. Pray with me." So Walt prays the Lord's Prayer, one step which leads toward the beginning stages of acceptance, forgiveness, and resolution.

A real life story that will grab your heart. Discussion questions included.

Copyright 2004 Cascadia Publishing House

Gardner C. Hanks shows that while the Hebrew Scriptures give some support to the use of the death penalty, they also demand that people apply high standards for fairness and protecting the innocent. He argues that the use of capital punishment in the United States does not even meet the standards of the Old Testament.

Hanks shows how Jesus and the early church extend the concept of restorative justice. According to the Gospels and the epistles, God's love, as exemplified in the life and teachings of Jesus, requires restorative rather than retributive justice. Hanks concludes that the use of the death penalty is not compatible with Jesus' call for love and forgiveness.

Hank gives here a fuller treatment of the Bible's approach and helps Christian proponents of capital punishment take a second look at the death penalty. He challenges the whole society to work for fairness and restored humanity rather than merely punishing criminals.

Copyright 2002.

Drawing on Old and New Testament resources as well as secular arguments, Hanks shows that the death penalty harms rather than helps any quest for a just, humane society. Used primarily against the poor or mentally disabled, capital punishment reinforces societal inequities and exacerbates racism. He demonstrates through research data that the death penalty is not only an ineffective crime-fighting tool, it also brings out the worst in society, pollutes the political process, and threatens human rights.