The April 15 decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to commute to life imprisonment the sentences of all prisoners in the Philippines facing death is an important and valuable recognition of the right to life. There are at least 1000 persons in death row who can expect to have their sentences commuted. The announcement comes after the government imposed a moratorium on executions in 2001.
The decision deserves praise; however, it still falls short of the guaranteed right to life under article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the Philippines is a State party. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance of the ICCPR, has noted that while
"States parties are not obliged to abolish the death penalty totally they are obliged to limit its use and, in particular, to abolish it for other than the 'most serious crimes'. Accordingly, they ought to consider reviewing their criminal laws in this light and, in any event, are obliged to restrict the application of the death penalty to the 'most serious crimes'. The article also refers generally to abolition in terms which strongly suggest that abolition is desirable. The Committee concludes that all measures of abolition should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the right to life... Nevertheless, States' reports show that progress made towards abolishing or limiting the application of the death penalty is quite inadequate.
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/489/
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Church and Capital Punishment
One does not love one's neighbour by killing him.
The Second Vatican Council itself, in discussing the respect due to the human person, gives a number of examples of such acts: "Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which treat labourers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: all these and the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilisation they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation of the honour due to the Creator".
"Homicide" means literally "killing a human". Capital punishment is homicide.
http://modiz.f2s.com/text/TheChurch.html
The Second Vatican Council itself, in discussing the respect due to the human person, gives a number of examples of such acts: "Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which treat labourers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: all these and the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilisation they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation of the honour due to the Creator".
"Homicide" means literally "killing a human". Capital punishment is homicide.
http://modiz.f2s.com/text/TheChurch.html
Devine Law and Capital Punishment
God's law of capital punishment is stated clearly and concisely in Genesis 9:6. In God's own words the law reads: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: For in the image of God made he man". According to this, as long as man is in the image of God, then this law of God is in effect and valid, as I shall show.
The Ten Commandments— "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
God continued his sanction of capital punishment under the law of Moses. In the ten commandments, God said, "Thou shalt not kill". (Exodus 20:13). Some have tried to use this commandment to FORBID capital punishment. Such arguments just have to be either the grossest if ignorance, or the worst of hypocrisy. First, there is a difference in Murder and Capital Punishment. And second, a law is only as strong as the penalty imposed on its violation. All killing is not murder; some may be accidental. The New American Standard version translates this commandment, "You shall not murder". Young's concordance lists ten Hebrew words and six Greek words for the English word "kill" as used in the King James version of the bible. The Hebrew word "ratsach", means "to murder" and this is the word used in the ten commandments. In Matt 5:21, when Jesus quoted this commandment, He used the Greek word which means "murder". Furthermore, the sophistry of such an argument is exposed by reading in the next chapter God's penalties for violating His commandments. In Exodus 21:12, God tells us that the murderer was to be punished by death. Any law, if it is to be respected and obeyed, MUST have an appropriate penalty for its violation. If there is no penalty, or and an inadequate penalty, the law becomes anemic and meaningless. God enforced His law against murder by imposing the penalty of death on the violator. Immediately following the giving of the ten commandments, there follows a series of penalties, among which is the death penalty for murder. God said, "He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death". (Exodus 21:12)
http://rockypointchurch.org/Capital%20Punishment.html
The Ten Commandments— "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
God continued his sanction of capital punishment under the law of Moses. In the ten commandments, God said, "Thou shalt not kill". (Exodus 20:13). Some have tried to use this commandment to FORBID capital punishment. Such arguments just have to be either the grossest if ignorance, or the worst of hypocrisy. First, there is a difference in Murder and Capital Punishment. And second, a law is only as strong as the penalty imposed on its violation. All killing is not murder; some may be accidental. The New American Standard version translates this commandment, "You shall not murder". Young's concordance lists ten Hebrew words and six Greek words for the English word "kill" as used in the King James version of the bible. The Hebrew word "ratsach", means "to murder" and this is the word used in the ten commandments. In Matt 5:21, when Jesus quoted this commandment, He used the Greek word which means "murder". Furthermore, the sophistry of such an argument is exposed by reading in the next chapter God's penalties for violating His commandments. In Exodus 21:12, God tells us that the murderer was to be punished by death. Any law, if it is to be respected and obeyed, MUST have an appropriate penalty for its violation. If there is no penalty, or and an inadequate penalty, the law becomes anemic and meaningless. God enforced His law against murder by imposing the penalty of death on the violator. Immediately following the giving of the ten commandments, there follows a series of penalties, among which is the death penalty for murder. God said, "He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death". (Exodus 21:12)
http://rockypointchurch.org/Capital%20Punishment.html
Natural to Human Beings
Capital punishment is the termination of life which is God given. Since it is God’s gift to humanity it is only He who can take it back. Man does not have the right to take one’s life. To do so, is against the commandment of God.
It is man’s nature to prolong his life. Men resort to capital punishment to deter the commission of criminal acts. Some countries support capital punishment and others do not. Men who support capital punishment are very passionate with this, as they believe in the saying “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
It is man’s nature to prolong his life. Men resort to capital punishment to deter the commission of criminal acts. Some countries support capital punishment and others do not. Men who support capital punishment are very passionate with this, as they believe in the saying “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Natural to Human Beings
In our Human Nature the natural thing that happens to us when we see Capital Punishment is we ask ourselves,why? We ask why because as human beings we cannot take away the lives of people, only God can judge them. When we see people being persecuted by capital punishment, we are like taking the matters in our own hands, which is not suppose to be since we are created by God to share and love one another. When we ask ourselves why, we are asking ourselves why does this person have to die, maybe its the gravity of his/her action. "Kung and Diyos nga nagpapatawad, tayo pa kayang nilikha niya." is one saying that we should remember in deciding things like whether a person should be persecuted or not.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Information anout Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment 
- Also called the death penalty
- The execution of a convicted criminal
- Today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice.
Acknowledgements...
- Joseph Jongko - made the blog, researched, editor
- David Capa- made the group reflection paper, researched
- Lui Arce- made the blog, researched
- Chiyo Raymundo- helped making the group reflection paper, researched
- Paolo Letargo - made the blog, researched
- Juami Tiongson - made the blog, researched
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