Executing Grace
How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It's Killing Us
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
In this reasoned exploration of justice, retribution, and redemption, the champion of the new monastic movement, popular speaker, and author of the bestselling The Irresistible Revolution offers a powerful and persuasive appeal for the abolition of the death penalty.
The Bible says an eye for an eye. But is the state’s taking of a life true—or even practical—punishment for convicted prisoners? In this thought-provoking work, Shane Claiborne explores the issue of the death penalty and the contrast between punitive justice and restorative justice, questioning our notions of fairness, revenge, and absolution.
Using an historical lens to frame his argument, Claiborne draws on testimonials and examples from Scripture to show how the death penalty is not the ideal of justice that many believe. Not only is a life lost, so too, is the possibility of mercy and grace. In Executing Grace, he reminds us of the divine power of forgiveness, and evokes the fundamental truth of the Gospel—that no one, even a criminal, is beyond redemption.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
George Junius-Stinney Jr. was so small "that his head didn't reach into the metal helmet of the electric chair." At age 14, Junius-Stinney was the youngest person ever executed in the United States. The guards brought the biggest book they could find for him to sit on: the Bible. With a characteristically engaging voice, Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution) delves into how, as a white Southern evangelical Christian, he changed his mind about capital punishment. Through stories, interviews, history, and cogent scriptural reflection, Claiborne takes the reader on a moral journey that's often hard to undertake on one's own. He tests common beliefs, including the ideas that all murder victims favor the death penalty, prison officers feel justified in carrying out executions, and prisoners on death row have been fairly judged and are guilty of their crimes. He also looks at how the courts operate against victims who request that the death penalty not be applied in the prosecution of their loved one's killer, even denying them access to victim assistance funds. Claiborne's latest is a timely release as an increasing number of U.S. states move to more effective forms of justice and Pope Francis calls for a global moratorium on capital punishment.
