Did you know that God forbids prisons?
What would you say if you learned that the entire earth's justice systems were broken? If I told you that the system designed to protect society from evil and punish criminals actually punishes their victims too-would that surprise you? By attempting to protect society, these systems prevent criminals from righting their wrongs and embolden them to hurt more people.
Not only do these systems hurt you, but you're also paying to keep them going. How can a victim be required to foot the bill for the punishment? Yet for each lawbreaker who is punished with prison, you're paying for him to fellowship with the last group he should be around, or at least to delay him from righting his wrong.
How do you eliminate a half trillion annual expense in the US alone? How do you prevent capital offenses in the first place?
God has the solution; we just don't like key parts of it. We shoot ourselves in the foot in order to think of ourselves as dignified and compassionate. Yet the responsibility of public stoning (with the rest of the Biblical model) is more dignified and compassionate than any alternative.
Death (or the stopgap alternative) is the most severe court judgment in the full range of Biblical justice tools, and so it deserves primary investigation. Examine the thought process behind God's design for the most fundamental punishment-capital punishment.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of religion, activism, and the prison system, and it's sure to spark lively discussions among believers and atheists alike.
