LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Capital Punishment: Executions
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Capital punishment remains on the books in Bhutan and Thailand alike. However, both King Jigme Singye Wanchuk of Bhutan and King Bhumibol Alduyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand have been following a policy of commuting death sentences. Apparently, official executions have not taken place in either country for a number of years. This is a welcomed development. Hopefully, the governments of Bhutan and Thailand will each see fit to formally outlaw capital punishment in the near future.
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Capital punishment is still one of the two most divisive debates in the U.S. -- the other being abortion. The late Gov. Mel Carnahan found out how controversial during the summer of 1999 when he spared the life of convicted killer Darrell Mease at the specific request of Pope John Paul II during the Pope’s celebrated trip to St. Louis.This was an unusual step for Carnahan, who had previously allowed the execution of 22 men during his seven years in office as governor of Missouri.
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According to Paul the purpose of human government is to reward good and punish evil, an example of the latter coming in the form of "the sword" (a reference to the Roman form of capital punishment). The reason for such is God's desire for retribution of moral wrongdoing. While vengeance is the Lord's, He has delegated some of the execution of that vengeance to human government in the form of justice generally, and in the form of capital punishment specifically.
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Some polls suggest that support for capital punishment nationally now stands at 77 percent. Traditionally, a majority of women were opposed to capital punishment – this was particularly true at the time of Chessman’s execution. Since the 1960s that has changed, with a majority of women now favoring the death penalty.
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The prevalence of capital punishment in ancient times is difficult to ascertain precisely, but it seems likely that it was often avoided, sometimes by the alternative of banishment and sometimes by payment of compensation. For example, it was customary during Japan's peaceful Heian period (794–1185) for the emperor to commute every death sentence and replace it with deportation to a remote area, though executions were reinstated once civil war broke out in the mid-11th century.
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The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations — pointing out flaws in the justice system — has weighed against capital punishment. The moral opposition is loud, too, echoed in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, where all but a few countries banned executions years ago.
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