a personal opinion on California's Prop 34 ("Death Penalty. Initiative Statute")
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
This statement is my personal opinion as a rabbi and not a communal response.
The death penalty is incompatible with Jewish tradition, based on the Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah's teaching that "a court that sentences one person to death every 70 years is to be considered murderous." This means that ultimate judgment (ie, a death penalty) is not a human obligation, but rather God's. Though Jewish theology is not the only component of my moral decision-making regarding sociiety, it is an essential factor in recognizing that our obligation to achieve justice in this world does not require killing others. Justice should be meted out through a system of incarceration - and rehabilitation, wherever possible.
learn more here: http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_34,_the_End_the_Death_Penalty_Initiative_(2012)
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Rabbi Menachem Creditor
