Good Afternoon, I am honored to be here, and I thank you for having me. Today I would like to speak to you about a very controversial issue- What do those two words mean to you? To mostpeople they mean a murder victims family receiving justice for theirdeceased. Let me see a show of hands. How many people in the audiencebelieve in the death penalty? I conducted a weeklong survey of twohundred people of all ages. The purpose was to see how many peoplebelieved in the death penalty and how many opposed it. My results areshown on this overhead.As you can clearly see, 98% believe in the death penalty. 57% believethat the death penalty is a deterrent for murder. A high of 97% of thepeople favor capital punishment, where 1% think that our justice systemshould not be more lenient on death row inmates. Only 89% think thatonce convicted of murder, an inmate should be sentenced to deathimmediately. I would like to take this time to tell you a story. On August 15,1997, the Reverend John Miller preached a sermon at the Martha VineyardsTabernacle in New Hampshire. He told his congregation, which includedthe vacationing President Clinton and his wife, that capital punishmentis wrong. I invite you to look at a picture of Timothy McVeigh and toforgive him, said Miller. If we profess to be Christians, then we arecalled to love and forgive. Once the sermon ended, Rev. Miller,Clinton, and their wives got together for brunch at the Sweet Life Cafi. What the Rev. did not know was that 24-year-old Jeremy T Charron; anEpsom New Hampshire police officer was gunned down in cold blood justhours before Millers sermon on forgiving murderers. That Sunday markedCharrons 44th day as a full time police officer, the job he dreamed ofsince he was 6 years old. Jeremy Charron leaves behind his parents, two sets of grandparents, twosisters, two brothers, a wide circle of friends, and a girlfriend whoseengagement ring he had begun to shop for. Maybe the Re...
