Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment [Paperback]

Mark Osler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2009

What does the most infamous criminal proceeding in history--the trial of Jesus of Nazareth--have to tell us about capital punishment in the United States?

Jesus Christ was a prisoner on death row. If that statement surprises you, consider this fact: of all the roles that Jesus played--preacher, teacher, healer, mentor, friend--none features as prominently in the gospels as this one, a criminal indicted and convicted of a capital offense. 

Now consider another fact: the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus bear remarkable similarities to the American criminal justice system, especially in capital cases. From the use of paid informants to the conflicting testimony of witnesses to the denial of clemency, the elements in the story of Jesus' trial mirror the most common components in capital cases today.

Finally, consider a question: How might we see capital punishment in this country differently if we realized that the system used to condemn the Son of God to death so closely resembles the system we use in capital cases today? Should the experience of Jesus' trial, conviction, and execution  give us pause as we take similar steps to place individuals on death row today? These are the questions posed by this surprising, challenging, and enlightening book

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Baylor University law professor and former prosecutor Osler challenges Christian support for the death penalty by fitting the story of Jesus' trial and death into the modern criminal justice process in the United States. His chapters follow the arc of Christ's last days and examine their symmetry with aspects of modern criminal trials, noting the use of a paid informant, denial of habeas corpus and humiliation of the convicted. The chapter on last meals offers compelling ligatures between the public's fascination with death row inmates' last requests—foods like chicken-fried steak and chili cheese dogs—and the celebration of the Eucharist, which commemorates "the last meal of a man who knew he would be killed by the state the next day." At times Osler's thesis—that God's "creation of an earthly Christ subjected to capital punishment seems to reveal his intent that we care not only about that man, but that process"—gets lost in the details of the extended parallel. Yet the book makes an effective, and surprisingly gentle, case against the death penalty, an argument aimed at the majority of American Christians who see no irony in supporting capital punishment while following one who was a defendant and victim of it. (Feb.)
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About the Author

[2009] Mark Osler is Professor of Law at Baylor University School of Law. A former federal prosecutor, he is an expert on federal sentencing guidelines who has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, ABC's Good Morning America, and in more than 30 newspapers. His work on sentencing has been cited and extensively quoted in a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Product Details

• Paperback: 157 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (February 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687647568
• ISBN-13: 978-0687647569
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will The Defendant Please Rise., April 12, 2009

By 

dream factory (Triangulum, M33) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment (Paperback)

Good Easter Morning!
Jesus on Death Row - - A surprising and enlightening book. Challenges you to examine capital punishment under a unique perspective. Jesus Christ, a criminal indicted and convicted of an offence worthy of the death penalty.
Taking each of the four Gospels Osler expertly dissects the chapters of Jesus' trial & execution.

In the USA 85% identify themselves as Christian. The debate over capital punishment is important. Thus to a Christian this presents itself as an important book. We follow our elected leaders' choices regarding execution. But do our leaders (Clinton, Bush, Obama) follow their Christian roots and professed convictions?

This book is an enlightening read to help one better partcipate in the debate regarding the death penalty. To better appreciate the judistcal atmosphere of the court and death penalty. Could YOU pull the switch? Or could you elect someone to do it for YOU?

As viewed through the eyes of a well versed Christian lawyer. Understanding Christ as a criminal.Caught in a web: the violence of arrest, due process, witnesses, clemency refusal, provision of trial, prosecutors emotions, cruel & unusual execution.

At a deeper spiritual level this book gives life to the experience Jesus endured both psychologic and physical.

An easily digested book about an important contemporary subject. Intriguing.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, powerfully stated, February 25, 2009

By 

R. Darden - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment (Paperback)

"Jesus on Death Row" is a wonderfully rewarding surprise. Elegantly written, with a host of fascinating stories and allusions, Prof. Osler delicately stitches together a narrative of the trial and execution of Jesus with modern American Christian views on the death penalty. This is NOT a dogmatic screed. Instead, "Jesus on Death Row" is a thoughtful, sometimes surprising essay on what we believe -- and why. I loved every page.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly personal, successful pairing of law and religion, March 2, 2009

By 

Amy Garrou (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment (Paperback)

In this unique linking of Biblical scripture and current law, Osler cites and examines much of his own experience as a federal prosecutor to illuminate the similarities between the steps in Jesus' arrest, trial, and execution with contemporary criminal practice and attitudes about punishment in the US. This book could rightly be called "Jesus Christ, Defendant," as that is exactly the lens Osler uses to examine the death penalty in the US.

And his result is striking. Consider this excerpt from the chapter entitled "Last Meal:" "With the murderer we have almost nothing in common (we hope), but still he wants chicken for dinner . . . We are somewhere in between the Savior and the killer. We exist in that wide chasm between the murderer and Christ, yet our common experience meets the murderer in the precise place where it meets the life of Christ" (p. 67). By yoking the two extremes, he reminds Christians that they follow "a religion whose central narrative is an execution and its aftermath" (p. 144), and allows all his readers a generous window into the complex, fraught practices of the current prosecutorial system. Osler's plain style shepherds readers effortlessly through his argument, showing us all our fragile humanity.