In Genesis 9:6, God commands, "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man." Because he bears the image of God, the value of a man is so great that there is only one punishment worthy of the unjust taking of his life. The ultimate crime against the innocent demands the ultimate penalty for the guilty. This is not only just, it's also a way to protect the innocent. According to the article "Studies say death penalty deters crime," anywhere between 3 and 18 (depending on the study) lives are saved when a murderer is executed.
"Science does really draw a conclusion. It did. There is no question about it," said Naci Mocan, an economics professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. "The conclusion is there is a deterrent effect."
A 2003 study he co-authored, and a 2006 study that re-examined the data, found that each execution results in five fewer homicides, and commuting a death sentence means five more homicides. "The results are robust, they don't really go away," he said. "I oppose the death penalty. But my results show that the death penalty (deters) -- what am I going to do, hide them?"
Another professor responded:
"Abolitionists or others, like me, who are skeptical about the death penalty haven't given adequate consideration to the possibility that innocent life is saved by the death penalty."
If the findings are correct, they pose a real dilemma for those who oppose the death penalty: Is it right to keep a murderer alive if it means as many as 18 innocent people will die?
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