No. They should have executed a hundred and forty by now. No question about it! The electric chairs should be working day and night; there are so many customers that deserve it. And it’s a great mitzvah. No question about it, it’s a big mitzvah, a very big mitzvah.
Hakodosh Boruch Hu says: קול דמי אחיך צועקים אלי מן האדמה, the murdered man’s blood is crying out to me for revenge. But this liberal judge comes into the court and he says, “The courtroom is no place for revenge.” Who said so?! Of course the courtroom is a place for revenge!
When you execute a murderer, not only are you getting rid of a murderer which is a good thing, but you’re doing a nachas ruach to the person whom he wronged. And that person is crying out. He’s crying out! The dead man is not dead. The neshama is alive. And it’s our duty; the minimum duty of a person is to see that the murdered man gets his justice.
And that’s why capital punishment is so important. Our emunah in hash’aras hanefesh, the neshama in Olam Haba, is paramount; and capital punishment is one of the ikarim to fortify that principle. And therefore, a state that carries this out is just acting out a little bit of some of the most basic chovos of mankind.
TAPE # E-109 (May 1997)
