Religion plays a substantial role concerning how the death penalty is viewed and used in different countries. While the United States is a melting pot of religions, Christianity is the most predominant. The U.S. still uses capital punishment, but the population’s opinion is divided. Christians tend to justify their stance on the death penalty–whether for it or against it– based on scriptures from the Bible. Some refer to passages such as Genesis 9:6, which says “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.” According to this verse, one might assume that it would agree with the death penalty. After all, both capital punishment and Genesis 9:6 share the “eye for an eye” mentality. However, there are other parts of scripture that tell Christians not to kill. One of the Ten Commandments is “You shall not murder,” which many believe contradicts the death penalty. These various scriptures can lead to a division in the Christian view of the death penalty. Capital punishment is still practiced in Islamic countries such as Afghanistan. This is not a surprise, considering that Islam as a whole accepts capital punishment. Qur'an 6:151 states, “…Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom.” It is important to take note that Islam prefers forgiveness over capital punishment, even though it is allowed. Some predominantly Hindu countries, such as Nepal, do not use capital punishment. There is no specific Hindu view on the death penalty, but the religion is against violence and revenge as aligned with the principle of ahimsa (“non-violence”). Buddhist countries such as Thailand still use capital punishment, but Thailand has not executed anyone since 2009. Buddhists do not condone violence and instead support sympathy of all life. The Buddha once said, “An action, even if it brings benefit to oneself, cannot be considered a good action if it causes physical and mental pain to another being.”
Religion and culture tend to go hand in hand when referring to the subject of capital punishment. While culture can refer to clothing, food, language, art, and holidays, those do not seem to have an impact on the view of the death penalty. However, culture also includes the values of a group of people, which also tend to stem from religion. The United States does not have an official religion due to religious freedom, but a majority of Americans identify as Christian. As previously mentioned, Christians tend to be divided on the topic of the death penalty due to various Scriptures in the Bible. The culture in Afghanistan is strongly influenced by Islam, which allows capital punishment. Hinduism and its opposition to violence have influenced the way capital punishment is viewed in Nepal, a country that doesn’t use the death penalty. Culture in Thailand is heavily influenced by Buddhism. They value all life and do not support violence, which is evident in the fact that they haven’t executed anyone in years.
A country’s history can also determine whether or not it uses capital punishment. A well-known example is Germany, which abolished the death penalty after the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the extermination of millions of innocent Jews. Many died in concentration camps all over Europe. After that mass killing and the devastation it caused, there was no way the death penalty could ever be practiced in the country again. The Dominican Republic, which also has a dark history of genocide, joins Germany on the list of countries that do not use capital punishment. In 1937, 20,000 to 30,000 people were killed after the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo, ordered the execution of Haitians living in the country. He ordered the slaughter of Haitians as an attempt to save the country from an economic crisis. This genocide was known as the Parsley Massacre, or “El Corte” (The Cutting). Cambodia also does not use capital punishment, which could be due to the Cambodian massacre from 1975 to 1979. Approximately 1.5 to 2 million people died due to execution, starvation, overwork, or disease.
Politics, particularly in the United States, often play an important role in how the death penalty is viewed and utilized in certain cases. In recent years, intermingling the death penalty with political campaigns has become very popular. Many candidates speak very openly about the death penalty and use their position as a way of gaining a political advantage. “This political promotion of capital punishment by those responsible for interpreting and implementing the law interferes with the right to a fair hearing and increases the likelihood that innocent defendants will be executed.” (Dieter). Judges often have to participate in reelections. These same people normally have the final say on whether a defendant gets to live or die. If a judge decides against the death penalty, even if he or she follows the law and is correct, they can still be subject to persecution by others and be penalized by voters when reelection time comes (Dieter). The judge’s ruling could be accused of displaying sympathy towards a certain crime and could cost them his or her reelection in the future. Supreme Court Justice Byron White once said, “If a judge's ruling for the defendant . . . may determine his fate at the next election, even though his ruling was affirmed and is unquestionably right, constitutional protections would be subject to serious erosion.” An example of this incident is Texas Judge Charles Campbell. Campbell was voted off of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after a very popular capital murder case was reversed. A man named Stephen Mansfield, who had almost no criminal law experience and was even fined for practicing law without a license, succeeded Campbell. Judge Campbell had previously been a conservative prosecutor and had served on the bench for twelve years, but lost his position to someone far less qualified simply because Mansfield made a promise to uphold more death sentences (Dieter). This shows that some people are willing to vote for a less qualified candidate if he or she will issue more death penalties. While some people believe it is unfair, politicizing capital punishment is a very common practice in the United States.