Jesus made it specifically clear that we all deserve to die, and he came to save us from that death. The mercy exemplified by God is exactly why no Christian can support the death penalty without endangering their souls.

In John 8:7 Jesus did not say “let he who has not committed this particular sin cast the first stone,” he said he who is without sin. We are not to dole out what is deserved; we are to meet all with mercy and encourage repentance and forgiveness.

There are not exceptions to this for particular crimes. There are justifications for instances where an individual would cause more harm if they were alive and cannot be safely removed from society, such as self defense, etc. Life without parole is a cruel enough punishment.

Even that should be considered only for the most heinous and reprehensible crimes.

As Christians our justice must be informed and molded by our mercy and void of personal vindication.