Religion and the death penalty

"Religion and the Law"

Temple Israel

2312 Kanawha Blvd. East

Charleston WV 25311

 

Eyewitness testimony, the death penalty, and the right to remain silent

(with Public Defender George Castelle and Rabbi Jim Cohn)

Wednesday, March 30, 7:00-8:30 pm

Do our eyes and ears deceive us? The question is not merely an abstraction.  A person's life can depend on how certain we are of what we think we've seen and heard.  Should a person's life depend on that certainty (or lack of it)?

Life is complicated when it comes to who gets sentenced to death, and who doesn't – and why. Just ask the people convicted of murder on the perjured testimony of now-deceased West Virginia forensic witness Fred Zain.

The rabbis of the Talmud anticipated this problem, and warned us about it.

Highlighting the complexities of Jewish history in this area, Rabbi Cohn says, "Maybe that's why there no death penalty in Israel.  But wait, there is.  But no one has ever been executed in Israel.  But wait, Eichmann was.  But wait, he was the only one.  But wait, no he wasn't. Isn't it interesting how modern Israeli law is based on Jewish law? Oh wait.  No, it isn't.