Synopses & Reviews
This important book is sure to foster informed public discussion about the death penalty by deepening readers' understanding of how religious beliefs and perspectives shape this contentious issue. Featuring a fair, balanced appraisal of its topic, "Religion and the Death Penalty brings thoughtful religious reflection to bear on current challenges facing the capital justice system.One look at the list of contributors reveals the significance of this book. Here are recognized leaders from the academy, government, and public life who also represent a wide range of faith commitments, including Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Like many people of faith and goodwill, the authors disagree with one another, variously supporting retention, reform, or abolition of capital punishment. As a result, the book presents the most comprehensive and well-rounded religiously oriented discussion of the death penalty available.Contributors: Khaled Abou El FadlVictor AndersonJeanne BishopJ. BudziszewskiJohn D.,CarlsonMario M. CuomoE. J. Dionne Jr.Avery Cardinal Dulles, S. J.Eric P. ElshtainRichard W. GarnettStanley HauerwasFrank KeatingGilbert MeilaenderDavid NovakErik C. OwensGeorge H. RyanAntonin ScaliaPaul SimonGlen H. StassenMichael L. Westmoreland-WhiteBeth Wilkinson
Table of Contents
Religion and capital punishment : an introduction / Erik C. Owens and Eric P. Elshtain -- Catholic teaching on the death penalty : has it changed? / Avery Cardinal Dulles -- Can capital punishment ever be justified in the Jewish tradition? / David Novak -- The death penalty : a Protestant perspective / Gilbert Meilaender -- Punishing Christians : a pacifist approach to the issue of capital punishment / Stanley Hauerwas -- The death penalty, mercy, and Islam : a call for retrospection / Khaled Abou el Fadl -- Categorical pardon : on the argument for abolishing capital punishment / J. Budziszewski -- Biblical perspectives on the death penalty / Michael L. Westmoreland-White and Glen H. Stassen -- Christian witness, moral anthropology, and the death penalty / Richard W. Garnett -- Human nature, limited justice, and the irony of capital punishment / John D. Carlson -- Responsibility, vengeance, and the death penalty / Victor Anderson -- The death penalty : what's all the debate about? / Frank Keating -- Reflections on the death penalty and the moratorium / George H. Ryan -- God's justice and ours : the morality of judicial participation in the death penalty / Antonin Scalia -- Why I oppose capital punishment / Mario M. Cuomo -- Capital punishment : is it wise? / Paul Simon -- Facing the jury : the moral trials of a prosecutor in a capital case / Beth Wilkinson -- The problem of forgiveness : reflections of a public defender and a murder victim's family member / Jeanne Bishop -- Afterword : lifting new voices against the death penalty : religious Americans and the debate on capital punishment / E. J. Dionne Jr.