At long last we are about to witness the death of the death penalty. It has been on life support for an unconscionably long time. There is going to be jubilation in the kingdom of evil. In contrast there will be sadness in God’s kingdom as impunity holds sway when the life of a human being will not be worth more than that of a chicken. At times it would appear that we are being remotely controlled by institutions outside the governance which we elected.
One such institution is Amnesty International that has been throwing its weight all around the world in the name of new found ethics. It is worthy of note that killings of human beings have been carrying on in the world’s leading country, which is the United States.
Even in politics the majority is not always right since they may be acting sentimentally. And politics is a game of numbers, which does not apply in this case. It therefore does not follow that because the majority of countries in the world have abolished the death penalty we should follow suit. We should be asking ourselves why it was being implemented in the first place.
Dr Siaka Stevens was a man who could not be swayed by sentiments but by thinking of the consequences of his actions. Thus it was that during talks on Sierra Leone’s Independence he refused singularly to sign the constitutional instruments. He eventually formed a party of his own and today we have an All People’s Congress that has ruled this country for 35 years.
Similarly he did not pay heed to the noise of Amnesty International about the purported wrongs of the death penalty. Citizens of the older generation could recall that after the executions of the Mammy Yoko Street and Wellington Street murderers and others, there were little or no murders in the land for a long time. This is simply because the executions were effective in curbing murders with impunity. It accorded with the local maxim: “Kill dog befo dog yai meke e know say die dae.” (Kill a dog in another dog’s presence and that will send a message of deterrence).
How sad it is that people or rulers who call themselves Christians are departing from the biblical principles and adopting those laid down by man! We are being led astray like lost sheep.
Homosexuality is not only on the ascendancy in many more countries but so called Christians have gone as far as electing gay bishops. What other aberration of true Christian doctrine would they not indulge in? For instance: “For God is not a God of confusion but peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate as even the law says.” 1st Corinthians 14:33-34. The churches as whole have not only glossed over this passage but also thrown it out the widows in the fulfilment of their own desires.
The ancient Hebrew and Greek languages are terse and not as precise as the English language. As a result, Exodus 20:13 states you shall not kill. Jesus himself underscored this in Mathew 19:18 when he said “You shall not kill.” The consequence of murder is clearly stated in Genesis 9:6 that states “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.” The logical conclusion here is that by killing man you are virtually killing God and this is what the abolishers are advocating: Daniel Webster once said every unpunished murder takes away something from the security of every man’s life.” How true!
That was the rationale of Dr Siaka Stevens. He not only kept to the precepts of the Bible but in doing so safeguarded the lives of citizens and non-citizens. Citizens were free from “Ar go kill you en go you jail” (I will kill you and be jailed). After sometime the murderer would be free on parole and be seen to be provocative to the victim’s family and relatives.
There should be exceptions to the totality of this abolition. How about killing of law enforcement officers on duty or the offence of treason? How about a person who goes berserk and is in the act of killing more in a crowded place like a school or place of worship? Should he/she be fondled or shot on the spot to prevent more killings?
There has been a consensus for the death penalty. Palo Conteh cleansed the gallows. Our head of state seems to be going with the crowd even through this is a matter that will not earn him votes in 2023. All rulers who refuse to shed the blood of the killer, as requested by the Bible, stand the chances of Hell Fire.