Do you remember the Tree of Life Synagogue shootings last year in Pittsburg? Eleven Jews were killed by Robert Bowers in an act of pure anti-Semitism. It was horrific.
The federal government, which is prosecuting the case as a hate crime, has declared that it will be seeking the death penalty for Bowers. But two of the three congregations have issued statements declaring their opposition to the plan. The third congregation has taken no stand on the matter. It is not that any of the congregations feel Bowers should go unpunished, just that the penalty should be life in prison without the possibility of parole as opposed to the death penalty.
I thought of this as I was reflecting on the powerful scene from the closing moments of the Amber Guyger trial, as the brother of Botham Jean, the unarmed man she had murdered offered her very public words of forgiveness and an embrace, even as others outside the courtroom protested the ten-year prison sentence the former police officer was given as being too lenient.
Both stories prompt the same question: what is the role of mercy in our society? And how do we balance justice and mercy? I have always considered justice to be getting what we deserve, and mercy as a granting of undeserved grace. Bowers, it would seem, deserves to pay the highest price for his crime. That would be just. Guyger deserves to be severely punished for her crime. That too would be just. But what part can, should, mercy play in a court of justice?
The scriptures--Jewish, Christian and Islamic alike--speak of God as being both just and merciful. If we are called to be reflect God's will and way, then we too should be both--but how do we do that?
No comments:
Post a Comment