It Shall Not Return!

“God is the one whom gave us our lives; therefore, He is the only one whom could take
it back.” These were the words that people in our society, that opposes to Death Penalty
upholds.

A hot and sizzling issue has arisen after our newly elected, Rodrigo Digong Duterte
have mentioned the comeback of this penalty during one of his press conferences after
the May 9 elections. he said that he wanted Congress to restore death penalty by
hanging for convicts involved in illegal drugs, gun-for-hire syndicates, and those who
commit “heinous crimes” like rapists, robbers or car thieves who kill their victims. These
words coming from our president is a surprise no more, for he is known as a tactless
person. For some citizens, Death Penalty shows indeed injustice. How?

First and foremost, each of us could be pointed as criminals. One wrong move and
people could judge you and simply announce that you are guilty of doing something that
is against the law. No one knows perfectly what actually happened in the crime but the
victim and the suspect, because even the witnesses could be paid and force to tell lies.
Now, what if someone accused in the court was innocent or was mistakenly a victim of
the blinded justice? Is it right to take away their lives easily just because of a mistaken
accusation?

Even the word of God, the Bible itself, goes up against the idea of Death Penalty as
a punishment. “You shall not kill,” these were the words that are highly commanded by
God according to Deuteronomy 5:17. If in God’s laws, it was clearly shown and
authorized that we don’t have even an inch of right to kill people based on our own
judgment, then who do we think we are to agree with this Death Penalty?

But people, who approved with the Death Penalty, might reasoned out that it is a form
of retribution to discourage people from committing crime or if it won’t work, then it will
simply eliminate repeat offenders. And that the said punishment is necessary due to the
alarming upsurge of the heinous crimes. According to the PNP's Directorate for
Investigation and Detective Management there are a total of 9,646 murder cases;
31,741 cases of robbery; and 10,298 rape cases in 2015. These translate to an average
crime incidence of a murder every 54 minutes, a robbery every 16 minutes, and a rape
case every 51 minutes. But are these figures being reasonable enough to give us rights
to kill? Just come to think of it, the death penalty leads to an increase in crime because
this penalty desensitizes people to violence, and it sends the message that violence is a
suitable way to resolve conflicts. Ladies and gentlemen, are we fooling around?

What is happening in our society today, led people to often think that the only way to
claim peace is to reduce human rights. But this is inclusively wrong. Even if it is for our
country, we shall never kill. If in Digong’s campaign, he kept on mentioning his
infamous line, “Change is coming,” why not give these sinners another chance to
Change for the good and let us wait for the better them to come.

Nobody among all of us is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and sins, but God is
never tired and still always there to give us countless chances. So, why not we give
these fellow men their chances to change too? And if it will not work, then leave the rest
to God. Because in Romans 12:19 God said that, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”