We, the comrades of
Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will write this open letter to Sharon Risher in regards
to her comments on the sixth commandment of the Bible. We will be discussing about
capital punishment, racism, violence, the Bible and murder victims’ families.
Let us first see what she said on an article:
The Rev. Sharon Risher supported the death penalty for most of her life — until it became a possibility that the man who murdered her mother would be executed.
The traumatic event forced Risher, a United Church of Christ minister in Charlotte, North Carolina, to think deeply about her perspective on capital punishment and whether the shooter, Dylann Roof, should be executed.
Roof, as a 21-year-old white supremacist in 2015, opened fire during a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and killed Risher’s mother, two cousins and six others.
“People would say, ‘Well, he does deserve the death penalty,’” Risher said, “Then, I had to go back and really think about this and read the Bible and the Ten Commandments.”
One commandment was key. ”‘Thou shalt not kill’ was really what convinced me in my heart,” she said.
Dear Sharon
Risher,
Let us begin by telling you that we
are sorry for the lost of your mother. Our group Unit 1012, also consists of
murder victims’ families, so we walk in your shoes. We admire what you teach of
forgiveness and we support that. We do endorse your book, For
Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre .
We remember murder victims’ families every year on National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims and
also on Tree
of Angels during the Christmas Season. If you see this album,
we remember the Emanuel 9 on those events.
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Nine victims of the Charleston church shooting. Top row: Cynthia Hurd,
Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Middle row: Daniel
Simmons, Rev. Depayne Middleton Doctor, Tywanza Sanders Bottom row: Myra
Thompson, Ethel Lee Lance, Susie Jackson Via Facebook and Getty Images
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Whatever
we write here in this Open Letter, is not an attack on your character or your
personal life, we know you are a nice person and we love you. However, we want
to say that we disagree with your stance on capital punishment in regards to
the 6th commandment. We will discuss the Bible as some of us in Unit
1012 are Christians and also speak of racism, violence and other murder victims’
families who have suffered.
Claim: Some Christians claim the commandment, "thou shall not kill," is a prohibition of capital punishment.Truth: First of all, this is an incorrect translation from Hebrew. The commandment should read, "Thou shall not murder." This commandment would apply to individual instances of homicide and wouldn't be construed in any way to exclude society from executing murderers. It is worth noting that those making this claim do so oblivious to the fact that the ten commandments are located in the Book of Exodus and merely a chapter later we find Moses prescribing the death penalty for a variety of offenses including murder.
This is one of the laws of nature, and was strongly enforced by the precepts given to Noah and his sons, Gen. 9:5, 6. It does not forbid killing in lawful war, or in our own necessary defence, nor the magistrate’s putting offenders to death, for those things tend to the preserving of life; but it forbids all malice and hatred to the person of any (for he that hateth his brother is a murderer), and all personal revenge arising therefrom; also all rash anger upon sudden provocations, and hurt said or done, or aimed to be done, in passion: of this our Saviour expounds this commandment, Mt. 5:22. And, as that which is worst of all, it forbids persecution, laying wait for the blood of the innocent and excellent ones of the earth. – Matthew Henry
That commandment, ‘Thou shalt not
kill’ in no way forbids the state from putting a murderer to death. The Bible
commands that Murderers must be executed and there is no indication
in both the Old and New Testament that it is unjust, immoral, or inappropriate
for secular civil governments to execute those guilty of shedding innocent blood.
For someone like Dylann Roof, he deserves to be executed
for his crime and we welcome his death sentence. Even Jesus Christ, who is the
God of both the OT and NT in the Bible (Revelation
1:8), demands his death by the State.
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Dylann Roof should be executed
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Even, W. James Antle III is a death penalty opponent, but he conceded
that Dylann Roof deserves to die for the crime. He knows
there is no doubt about Roof’s guilt and the crime is to heinous.
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And Ricky
Jason, who made a documentary called Byrd: The Life and Tragic Death of James
Byrd Jr. told 'I am against capital punishment, but for what he did I am for it.
They should burn his ashes and put him in hell with the devil.'
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Take the murder case of James Byrd Jr. for example, Ricky Jason, who made a documentary called Byrd: The Life and
Tragic Death of James Byrd Jr. was quoted as saying: 'I
am against capital punishment, but for what he (the killer) did I am for it. They should
burn his ashes and put him in hell with the devil.'
Racism and violence:
We, the comrades of Unit 1012, are murder victims’
families who condemn all forms of racism ourselves. However, the leftist media
had succeeded in manipulating the public into believing that judicial
punishment is racist. In our opinion, if the punishment is racist, end the
racism, not the punishment.
Thomas Sowell says it well:
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“Racism is not
dead, but it is on life support — kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and
people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racist.’” – Thomas
Sowell on the prevalence of racism
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Take the case
of the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, the real racist
person in the case, is the cop killer Micah Johnson, he is no different from
Dylann Roof and those who murdered James Byrd Jr.
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An Army veteran “upset
about Black Lives Matter” and “recent police shootings” who opened
fire Thursday night in Dallas in an attack on police officers has been
identified by police as Micah
Xavier Johnson.
Five police officers
were killed and seven were wounded, officials said. Two civilians were also
wounded in the shootings, police said.
Johnson, 25, was killed
when a police robot
detonated a bomb near him following a standoff that lasted several hours,
Police Chief David Brown said Friday at a press conference.
“The suspect said he was
upset with white people and wanted to kill white people, especially white
officers,” Brown said.
Dallas Mayor Mike
Rawlings said Johnson was the lone gunman, though police initially said two
snipers positioned themselves in triangulated locations to fire on officers
from elevated positions. Rawlings said confusion during the incident led to the
belief there were multiple shooters.
“We believe now that the
city is safe, and we can move on to healing,” Rawlings said Friday evening.
Homeland Security
Director Jeh Johnson said there are no apparent ties to
international terrorism.
The gunfire began just
before 9 p.m. Thursday while a peaceful rally was held by Black Lives Matter in
response to recent controversial police killings of black men in Louisiana and
Minnesota.
The gunman was then cornered
in El Centro College in downtown Dallas.
Police said at least 12
officers fired their weapons during the incident.
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“The suspect said he was upset with white people and wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.” – Police Chief Brown
Johnson was such a dangerous person armed with deadly weapons that the
police had no choice but to use a bomb attached to a remote control bomb disposal robot.
Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina, said, "This is sort of a new horizon for police technology. Robots have been around for a while, but using them to deliver lethal force raises some new issues."To this effect, Stoughton said, "I'm not aware of any police department having on hand something that is intended to be used as a weaponized explosive." He believed that the manner in which the police used the robot was justified due to Johnson being an imminent threat to police personnel and civilians, stating, "The circumstances that justify lethal force justify lethal force in essentially every form."
Had Johnson survived, the shooting, we want him to be sentenced to death
like Roof too. Regardless of whether the police killed him in self defense or
if he was executed by the state in capital punishment, it is neither violence
nor violating the 6th commandment. It was a lawful killing.
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Five Policemen killed in the July 7, 2016
shooting
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Jesus Christ is not a racist God, he loves people of any race. The Gospel
is good News for all people.
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Galatians 3:28 (NKJV)
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Acts 2
Acts 8:26-40
Romans 3:29
Thomas Sowell condemned slavery, where he was quoted:
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“Slavery was an ugly, dirty business but people of virtually every race,
color, and creed engaged in it on every inhabited continent. And the people
they enslaved were also of virtually every race, color, and creed.” – Thomas
Sowell
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://noqreport.com/2019/06/20/thomas-sowell-slavery/]
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If we were to change the word, ‘slavery’ to ‘homicide’ from Sowell’s quote,
you will understand that murder is committed anywhere regardless of race or color.
We are not racist people, so regardless of the race of the killer, we want them
punish for their crime.
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Helle Jespersen with her
daughter Louisa Vesterager Jespersen.
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The mother of Louisa Jespersen:
"The most just thing would be to give these beasts the death penalty they deserve, I ask that of you," said Helle Petersen in a letter read by her lawyer in an anti-terrorist court in Sale, near the capital Rabat. "My life was destroyed the moment that two policemen came to my door on December 17th to announce my daughter's death," the mother of 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen wrote in the letter, read out in total silence and with the defendants' faces impassive.“It will bring some sort of justice to our daughters. They go around and kill people, now they will feel what is like to be sentenced to death. That is the bigger picture I try to focus on, justice for our girls and our families and to prevent them from killing again.” – Helle Petersen, the mother of Louisa Jespersen, told the news after the killers were sentenced to death.
The
two quotes above are from Helle Petersen, the mother of 24-year-old Louisa
Vesterager Jespersen, who supports the death sentence for the killers. We, the
comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, stand with her and walk in her shoes and we
not only agree with her strongly but with also went through what she had to go
through and we will not forget her daughter. She wants justice and she is not
revengeful at all.
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A girl carries pictures
of 24-year-old Dane Louisa Vesterager Jespersen (left) and 28-year-old
Norwegian Maren Ueland during a candlelight vigil outside the Danish embassy in
Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday. Photo: AP
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Crowds of Moroccans, men and women, gathered Saturday (December 22, 2018) morning in front of the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Rabat, carrying banners with messages of solidarity. The banners read “No to terrorism,” and “We are all Danish and Norwegian.”
We thank those Moroccans who petitioned the government to bring back the
death penalty for the perpetrators.
A Moroccan has mounted a Change.org petition, calling on the Ministry of Justice to sentence the murderers of 28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway and 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen from Denmark to death.<<“The death penalty is undoubtedly the right solution to this horrible crime, as [a] Moroccan, I request the application of Articles 393, 399 of the Moroccan Penal Code”, the petition reads.>>
Last of all, those Moroccans
were united to seek justice for the victims and they were united in doing so.
They are the kind of good people who truly have compassion and care for the
murdered victims and their families. We also will not forget the lawyer who
represented the two murder victims, we say thank you.
Chicago Murdered
Victims:
The murder of Tyshawn Lee in Chicago, is a good example
of what happens when the State abolished the death penalty.
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Tyshawn
Lee
(January
23, 2006 to November 2, 2015)
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The late Polish President, Lech Kaczynski said:
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“Countries that give up
this penalty award an unimaginable advantage to the criminal over his victim,
the advantage of life over death.”
[Mr.
Kaczynski said in July 2006. His coalition partner, the far-right League of
Polish Families, wants to change the country’s penal code so that pedophiles
convicted of murder will face execution.]
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/in-loving-memory-of-lech-aleksander.html
& https://themightymenregiment710.blogspot.com/2017/04/in-loving-memory-of-lech-kaczynski-18.html] |
That quote from Kaczynski is undeniably true, now the
killer, Dwright Boone-Doty will not pay with his life and he will live while
Tyshawn lies in the grave. Dwright Boone-Doty, was even joking and gloating
about committing the murder:
In describing the shooting, Boone-Doty is overheard saying: ‘I’m looking at him. We walking. Bop. Hit the ground. ‘Bop-bop-bop-bop-bop. I’m laughing. I’m looking ... Bop bop bop bop bop man.’
The reason why he was
gloating about his killing, was most probably because he knows he will not be
executed. His wish was granted, he was sentenced to 90 years imprisonment.
The parents of Hadiya Pendleton wanted the killer to pay with
his life but they were disappointed that Illinois abolished the death penalty
in 2011.
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Nathaniel
and Cleo, the Parents of Hadiya Pendleton
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“We can only go speak to a grave. No. I think it's totally unfair,” Nathaniel said. Hadiya’s father says that if the death penalty were available in Illinois, Michaeil Ward would deserve it. Hadiya's mother agrees. “I don't think its cruel to say that you incited this on these people, so why are you still able to live the rest of your days out and have, possibly, the opportunity to enjoy the later part of your life?” Cleo said.
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Dakota C. Jones
(March 17, 1993 to August 11, 2013)
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Dakota Jones who was murdered by Scottie Thompson on August 11, 2013. Sadly,
Thompson was a recidivist murderer who was paroled after his first murder.
The death penalty in Illinois was abolished
because of liars. See this article, ‘Illinois
Death Penalty was Abolished Based on a Lie Posted
By Daniel Greenfield’
Forgiveness:
We want to say that we admire
your forgiveness, when you forgive Dylann Roof and we do not have a problem with
that. But do keep it mind, forgiveness does not eliminate consequences.
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“Forgiveness isn’t the same as reconciliation. Forgiveness
clears the ledger, it does not necessarily instantly rebuild trust. Forgiveness
is given; reconciliation is earned. Forgiveness cancels all debts, but it does
not eliminate all consequences.” -
Gary Inrig on forgiveness
[PHOTO
SOURCE: https://www.slideserve.com/tawana/radical-forgiveness]
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[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.slideserve.com/silver/forgiveness]
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12 So David commanded his young men, and
they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool
in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of
Abner in Hebron. – II Samuel 4:12 (NKJV)
God takes no pleasure in the death of sinners, so as to delight simply
in their death; rather, he delights to magnify his justice by inflicting the
punishment which their iniquities have deserved. A righteous judge who takes no
pleasure in condemning a criminal, may yet justly command him to be executed so
that law and justice may be satisfied, even though it is in his power to
procure him a reprieve.
– George Whitefield, Letter to Wesley, Bethesda in Georgia, Dec. 24,
1740
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John Piper
was quoted in his Q&A: Is
It Wrong to Want Mercy for a Criminal Who Deserves Capital Punishment?
To want mercy for him (the killer) is good! But that mercy would take form in a social setting where you don't release criminals on the world. It would take the form of wanting him to be forgiven, praying for him, perhaps even visiting him in prison and offering to forgive him. But that forgiveness does not say, "I think it would be a good idea if he got let go."He will be let go in heaven, but here society won't work. Romans 13 sets it up so that the government carries the sword to reward the good and to punish the evil, because society won't work if governments don't carry swords, prisons, fines, death penalties.So yes, it's right to want mercy for criminals—to forgive them, not to hold grudges against them—and to want them to be punished.Love mercy, do justice.
Conclusion:
Let us wrap up this open letter, we need to explain why
we have a problem with Helen Prejean, there are many reasons (which we will
write to Christian/Catholics in another open letter) but one of the worst thing
she ever did was denying the substitutionary atonement, see this from an
interview in democracy now:
That’s so opposite of what I’ve — you know, what Jesus is about, what Christianity is about. And when I hear religion quoted, like Jeff Sessions, ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, just did to justify the separation of children from their parents at the border, pulling in a religious quote from Romans 13, that if something is the law, God’s behind it. It’s with the authority of God. I hate to see Christianity used like this. And I’ve actually had people say, like a member of the pardon board in Louisiana, “Well, Jesus was executed for our sins. If he hadn’t been executed by the Romans, we wouldn’t be saved. We’ve got to have executions.” Like, the image of God behind that is a wrathful God whose sense of justice has been offended and demands a sacrificial death. What kind of God is that? We’ve got to get Jesus right. We’ve got to get Christianity right. And I hate to see religion used to justify violence. It’s the opposite of what Jesus was about.
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That’s so opposite of
what I’ve — you know, what Jesus is about, what Christianity is about. And when
I hear religion quoted, like Jeff Sessions, ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
just did to justify the separation of children from their parents at the border,
pulling in a religious quote from Romans 13, that if something is the law,
God’s behind it. It’s with the authority of God. I hate to see Christianity
used like this. And I’ve actually had people say, like a member of the pardon
board in Louisiana, “Well, Jesus was executed for our sins. If he hadn’t been
executed by the Romans, we wouldn’t be saved. We’ve got to have executions.”
Like, the image of God behind that is a wrathful God whose sense of justice has
been offended and demands a sacrificial death. What kind of God is that? We’ve
got to get Jesus right. We’ve got to get Christianity right. And I hate to see
religion used to justify violence. It’s the opposite of what Jesus was about.
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Professor Michael Michael Pakaluk was once quoted in his writing, ‘The
Death Penalty: An Opposing Viewpoints Series Book, Greenhaven Press, (hereafter
TDP:OVS), 1991’:
"If no crime deserves the death penalty, then it is hard to see why it was fitting that Christ be put to death for our sins and crucified among thieves. St. Thomas Aquinas quotes a gloss of St. Jerome on Matthew 27: ‘As Christ became accursed of the cross for us, for our salvation He was crucified as a guilty one among the guilty.’ That Christ be put to death as a guilty person, presupposes that death is a fitting punishment for those who are guilty."
The
late Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship
who was a death penalty opponent but became a supporter said:
While the thief on the cross found pardon in the sight of God - ‘Today you will be with Me in Paradise’ - that pardon did not extend to eliminating the consequences of his crime - ‘We are being justly punished, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds.’ (Luke 23:39-43)". Neither God nor Jesus nor the Holy Spirit nor the prophets nor the apostles ever spoke out against the civil authorities’ use of executions in deserving cases - not even at the very time of Jesus’ own execution when He pardoned the sins of the thief, who was being crucified alongside Him. Indeed, quite the opposite. Their biblical support for capital punishment is consistent and overwhelming. Furthermore, Jesus never confuses the requirements of civil justice with those of either eternal justice or personal relations.
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Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal
suffering. Christians care about all injustice, especially injustice against
God. – John Piper
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/425660602280647888/]
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Sharon, we do love you and we will never forget the
Emanuel 9 and please think of how we; murder victims’ families feel. Pastor John Piper was quote from his sermon, “Christians
Care About All Suffering and Injustice.”
Christians care about all suffering. That half of the sentence is designed to prick the conscience of Christians who are hesitant to mobilize themselves or others to care about all suffering like disease, malnutrition, disability, mental illness, injury, abuse, assault, loneliness, rejection, calamity.This caring has to be restricted, they feel, because if we give ourselves to caring for all suffering, we will surely then diminish the real concern of the Christian life, which is caring about eternal suffering. I want to say no: No, it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to trade one off against the other. Jesus is our model here over and over again in the Gospels.The Bible says that he had compassion; he cared. He had compassion on the crowds (Matthew 9:36); on the sick (Matthew 14:14); on the hungry (Matthew 15:32); on the blind (Matthew 20:34); on the leper (Mark 1:41); on the demon-possessed (Mark 9:22); on the bereaved (Luke 7:13).When he told a parable to try to explain what “love your neighbor as yourself” means (Mark 12:31), he told about the Good Samaritan. He ended by saying he had compassion on the man on the side of the road (Luke 10:33). Embedded in “love your neighbor” is “care about the suffering of your neighbor.”
We know that if Jesus Christ was on earth today, he will
show support for crime victims and their families.
God bless.
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