Free Us From The Narrows of Capital Punishment

3/20/2013 1 Comment CO State House hearing on the Repeal of the Death Penalty HB 1254  Old Supreme Court Chambers 3/19/13 by Rabbi Eliot Baskin I just returned from leading a Passover seder for seniors. Our seder marks the liberation of our people from Egypt slavery over three millennia ago. In Hebrew, Egypt, is known as mitsrayim, from the narrows of the Nile. Today I come here as a person of faith with faith in you to deliver us from a narrow place of retribution. According to our tradition, we crossed the sea of reeds and experienced the miracle of the seas parting. Rather than focusing in on the victory for the Israelites, Rabbinic commentary is full of concern for the Egyptians. The Midrash says that when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land and the Egyptian army drowned as the waters came flooding back, the angels in heaven were about to rejoice. But God stopped them and said, “The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you want to sing?” The Bible says, “Rejoice not when your enemy falls; be not glad when they stumble” (Prov. 24:17). We have always valued rehabilitation over retribution as according to our tradition, we are all created in the image of God, b'tselmem elohim. As a prison chaplain, yes I've seen plenty of recidivism, but I've also seen the transformative power of repentance, teshuva. We believe in justice, as our scripture teaches, "justice justice you shall pursue, tsedek, tsedek tirdof" (Deut 16:20. The repetition of the word justice teaches that we must pursue justice in all areas. I cannot believe that our system is a just one when we have three Blacks on death row, sentenced under the age of 21 and all living in Arapahoe county, the county that I reside in. This is not justice! On Friday, Maryland became the 18th state to repeal the death penalty. In Hebrew the number 18 chai equals life. Let us all choose life, uvacharta bachayim, that all may live (Deut 30:19) as our state becomes the 19th state to repeal capital punishment!