Talk gives triangular perspective on death penalty

Three men of different faiths sat in front of a crowd Wednesday night, and they all said one thing: A moratorium of the death penalty is needed.

Marshall Dayan, a Jewish law professor at North Carolina Central University; Stanley Hauerwas, a Christian theologian from Duke Divinity School; and Peter Wright, a UNC doctoral student of Islamic studies, participated as panelists in the Interfaith Responses to the Death Penalty.

To begin the night, each speaker discussed how the death penalty is viewed in his religion.

They provided background regarding the religions’ criminal justice systems based on scripture.

“(Islam) encourages people to move toward mercy,” Wright said.

Dayan explained that according to the Jewish religion, the first homicide, between Cain and Abel, did not involve the death penalty.

“We should kill people for stock fraud instead,” Hauerwas said jokingly during the discussion, explaining that capital punishment will not stop people from murdering.

The event continued with a question-and-answer session.

“Each speaker filled a specific niche,” said Ryan Presley, a member of UNC’s Campaign to End the Death Penalty, which sponsored the event.

The audience included members from many different races, ethnic groups and religions.

Melanie Pace, a sophomore from Charlotte, said she enjoyed the diversity she saw in the crowd. She not only learned about Islam and Judaism, but also about her own Christian faith.

Speakers also said what they would tell N.C. Gov. Mike Easley in regard to the death penalty, as legislators in the N.C. General Assembly are debating the establishment of a moratorium on the death penalty.

“The death penalty is symbolic of making people safer,” Hauerwas said. “But it’s not true.”

The forum also was co-sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, Newman Catholic Student Center Parish, Campus Y’s Criminal Justice Action and Awareness committee and N.C. Hillel.

Presley said that the event’s main focus was the moratorium, but that he also wanted to clarify any misconceptions that students had regarding differing religions.

“It is to bring people of different faiths together to talk about how their own faith treats the death penalty,” said John Steen, also a CEDP member. “The death penalty in North Carolina is a hot topic.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.