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“Political initiatives in response to serious violent crime.” Paper presented at the Making Crime Pay conference. Wellington, New Zealand, June 1994.

Caphill, Graham
June 4, 2015

Source: (1994) Stimulus 2 (August): 63-68.

How should legislators respond to violent crime? Capill begins to answer this question by examining what the Bible teaches concerning murder and other violent crime. Biblical elements considered include the introduction of death into human existence following the first sin, the first murder in the Bible, the great flood, the Mosaic law, and the New Testament. Capill goes on to argue that a Biblical approach emphasizes restorative practices such as restitution for relatively minor offenses; but a Biblical approach emphasizes retribution as just and necessary for violent crime, with murder being the ultimate and unique occurrence of such crime. Capill concludes with concrete policy recommendations for responding to crime and delinquency, especially to violent crime.

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