text: Especially for Christians, whose faith is centered on Christ’s unjust execution, there is surely an obligation to campaign for the abolition of the death penalty which denies the condemned the right to life and the opportunity to reform. It is to be hoped that just as Francis has spoken out against its use, Christians, especially those with public platforms in the United States, will do likewise.
  —Audrey Wells
  
  Dudley Sharp seems to agree with Wells.
  
  “However, if a prince or judge kills someone, that’s by our Lord God’s word and command.  You yourself do not bear the sword, but God . . . as if it were in God’s hand, as if an angel and not a human bore it, because god’s word clings to it, which commands to punish the wicked and to protect and defend the pious.”—Martin Luther.
  
  VVV, Marty E, and the second comment by Dudley Sharp seem to agree with Luther.
  
  Times, they are a’changin’.