Dear editor:
Ref: Scott Ruff's letter of April 22, 2017, my Bible states is Exodus 20:13 and again in Deuteronomy 5:17, "You shall not murder." A very different statement from thou shall not kill as you stated. Genesis 9:6, "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed." Leviticus 24:17, "Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death." Numbers 35:31, "Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murder who is guilty of death, but he shall be surely be put to death."
These men who have or will be executed shed the blood of people and putting them to death is punishment for their crimes. The death penalty is not, nor has it ever been used as, a deterrent, it is exacting the ultimate penalty for murder and falls in line with the gospel.
Robert Freeman Jr.
Bonnerdale
Editorial on 04/25/2017