Does the design and operation of the American criminal justice system reflect Christian love of neighbor?
District of Columbia attorney and Capitol Hill Baptist Church member Matt Martens discussed his groundbreaking new book Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal on Tuesday, December 5 at the Institute on Religion & Democracy offices in Washington.
Comment by George on December 8, 2023 at 8:34 am
Mr. Martens was visibly upset that there was a man serving a life sentence in Mississippi for possession of a small amount of marijuana. He failed to mention that this individual was tried under the repeat offender law. Three prior felony convictions. One was the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Now you have the whole story. Yes, state laws vary and some seem to be harsh but that’s because we are a REPUBLIC. Look hard at those who are incarcerated and you might find someone innocent of the crime for which he or she was convicted. It won’t be easy. And when you do, look to see if that person has a criminal history. It’s not our responsibility to see that the accused has the best defense team. It’s the state’s job to prove their guilt beyond “reasonable doubt”.
Nothing is perfect and that includes our justice systems. Look at how many second chances we give to these criminals. Insinuating that our justice system is unchristian is not fair and wrong.