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In the wake of 9/11, could it be that evangelical support of the death penalty is growing? If so, how do evangelicals' beliefs on justice fit with their hopes that all come to repentance? One key argument from Christian opponents of the death penalty, especially from Roman Catholics, has been that it cuts short the opportunities of the executed responding to the gospel. Supporters have sometimes responded that being faced with imminent death provides a good impetus for repentance.

But if a murderer does turn to God, should they receive mercy from the jury, or should it in fact be a factor in moving ahead with their execution? There's an old Wizard of ID cartoon where the king asks a priest, "Do you believe in the death penalty?" and the priest responds, "If you believe right, it's not a penalty."

Flippant? Maybe, but here's the irony: It turns out that the 1982 jury in the Payton case did discuss his conversion and came to the same conclusion. Juror Lorraine Rhoads told The Orange County Register in 2001, "We felt that if he has found God, then he is ready to go to heaven."

Oops! Never mind yesterday's Gonzalez commentary
Yesterday, Weblog speculated that religious conservative groups would be upset by the White House replacing Attorney General John Ashcroft with Alberto Gonzales. Weblog's guess was based on earlier opposition—rather strong opposition at that—to gossip that Gonzales might be chosen as a Supreme Court justice.

Actually, religious conservative groups are pleased as punch.

"We know the great personal regard President Bush has for Mr. Gonzalez, and we wish him well in his challenging new assignment," Focus on the Family Action's Tom Minnery says in a press release. He says he expects Gonzalez to "defend the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act … [and] aggressively prosecute obscenity cases … with excellence."

"We are confident as the nation's top lawyer, Mr. Gonzales will offer a strong defense of these measures which protect marriage and the unborn," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said.

"Alberto Gonzales is an outstanding attorney," said American Center for Law and Justice chief counsel Jay Sekulow. "Gonzales is the perfect person for this demanding job."

The Washington Post and The New Republic say these guys are so happy because the AG position will probably keep Gonzalez off the Supreme Court

Gonzalez doesn't have "strong pro-life beliefs," Minnery told the Post, so "putting someone like that in such an independent role as a federal judge is a problem for us. But as attorney general, the social issues are not as prominent as the law enforcement issues."

Actually, that's more or less what Weblog said yesterday, so give us a little credit. But we were way off on the Specter battle being over. Focus, FRC, Concerned Women for America, World's Marvin Olasky, the American Family Association, and other groups are still going strong on this one, as are less religious conservative groups like National Review. Not all religious conservatives are anti-Specter (See the Stones Cry Out blog for too much information), especially as Senate leaders seem likely to keep him as chairman of the judiciary committee. But for those who see this as the first big prolife battle after November 2, it's "in for a penny, in for a pound."

Religion & politics:

• Bush makes inroads with black Christian voters | Drawn by issues of family values, many black conservative Christian voters joined their white brethren in the faith at the polls to return George W. Bush to the White House, political analysts said (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  
  

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November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48