Criminal Procedures and Biblical Scriptures Order Instructions: Each of the scriptures below concern a given criminal procedure topic.
All scriptures are from the New International Version, 1984. Begin this assignment by meditating on the given scriptures. You may even want to pray about them. Psalm 119:18 recommends this prayer: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Once you have done that, answer the questions below.
Witnesses:
Deuteronomy 19:15 “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
Deuteronomy 17:6 “On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.”
Cross Examination:
Proverbs 18:17 “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.”
Deuteronomy 19:16–19 “If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you.”
Physical Evidence:
Deuteronomy 22:13–18 “If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” then the girl’s father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl’s father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him.”
Exodus 22:12-13 “But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.”
Answer the following questions for your thread:
–Did these scriptures change or confirm your views about how criminal procedure should operate according to each topic?
–How does our current system deal with each topic?
–How could our current system change (or not) to deal with each topic in a more biblical manner?
–Provide at least 1 reference and 1 different scripture (other than those given above) in support of your post.
Criminal Procedures and Biblical Scriptures Sample Answer
- Did these scriptures change or confirm your views about how criminal procedure should operate according to each topic?The scriptures confirmed my views on how the criminal procedures should be conducted. I have always known that witnesses play significant role during the criminal procedures as they give the jury with relevant information that could guide them in reaching the appropriate decision. Although I knew the higher the number of witnesses the better, I had not thought keenly on the appropriate number of witnesses. The following scriptures have made me embrace the fact of many witnesses 2 Corinthians 13:1; Hebrews 10:28 and Numbers 35:30 (Burnside, 2011). Similarly, the issue of cross examination and use of physical evidence are heavily relied upon even when dealing with minor cases. Therefore, the scriptures only confirmed my views. These criminal procedures ensure that innocent people are not convicted. For example, Deuteronomy 17:6-7 and Numbers 5:11-31, which indicates that whatever the cases, it must be related to the evidence which will ensure that execution is not done executed
2. How does our current system deal with each topic?
In our current systems witnesses play a vital role in criminal cases as they narrate to the jury of the matters they know. In our constitution, they are required to make an oath that they are telling the truth (Kenny, 2014). The issue of cross examination is vital in each case proceeding. The scriptures Proverbs 18:13 and Proverbs 18:18 support this concept as it argues that a person that makes decisions before hearing and examining it will result to folly and shame. Cross examination of a case and use of physical evidence is supported by the current systems, where each case presented, witnesses and evidences are cross examined before a judgement is made. This is important as it helps prevent biased judgement (Burnside, 2011).
- How could our current system change (or not) to deal with each topic in a more biblical manner?
As indicated, all of the three topics are embraced by the current system, so there is no much that needs to be changes. All cases must be thoroughly investigated, and the information gathered becomes cross examined to ensure no details are omitted. The only issue that tend to differ with the scriptures is the exact number of witnesses needed to make judgements about a person. Our current system allows evidence from one person, as long as the evidence is convincing beyond reasonable doubt, and supported by physical evidence and findings from cross examination (Kenny, 2014).
Although the bible does not support the use of one witness as indicated in 2 Corinthians 13:1, one witness comprehensive information can be sufficient to convict a person- for example consider rape case where only the suspect and victim are involved, but the suspects DNA or incriminating evidence is found on victims body- isn’t the evidence and witness testimony to make a conclusive decision (Burnside, 2011)? If the use of two witnesses is to ensure that innocent people are not accused wrongly, then, is there a chance for the witnesses to be corrupted? In this case, what is the ideal number of witnesses in a court ruling? What are the strategies used to reach such decisions? This is an interesting topic that would I would be interested to explore further.
Criminal Procedures and Biblical Scriptures References
Burnside, J. (2011). God, justice, and society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kenny, P. (2014). Sustainability of Restorative Justice. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
