3Case: In the early ’90s I dated a woman whose younger sister had been raped when she was 8. From what I could see, the rapist, in one afternoon, had sentenced the little girl to a lifetime of internalized torture, despite the efforts she and her loved ones took to smooth over the effects of that assault.

That’s a very sad story, but if the rapist was put to death, how would that smooth over the effects of the assault when the love and care of her family failed to do so? “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay.” Besides, the biblical penalty for rape is a fine of 50 shekels, not death.