In the latest issue of New Oxford Review, F. Douglas Kneibert kindly reviews By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. From the review:
Catholics are so accustomed to hearing that opposition to capital punishment is pro-life that few may realize there are good reasons to support it. Those reasons are set forth in a systematic and convincing manner in By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed. Edward Feser and Joseph M. Bessette find the pendulum has swung too far in one direction in the capital-punishment debate (to the extent there is one today), and Catholics are confused when told that something their Church upholds, and has always upheld, is now considered immoral…
Their approach is rigorously logical, philosophical, and biblical, and they defend capital punishment as an essential recourse for society to punish the worst criminals. Feser and Bessette never stray from Catholic teaching and tradition in their treatment of the subject…
In the tradition of Aquinas, the authors not only lay out a solid case for capital punishment but also address the various arguments against it – that it’s an affront to human dignity, that it doesn’t deter, that it forecloses the possibility of reform, and that the innocent might sometimes be executed. After careful examination, the authors find all such arguments wanting…
By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed asks much of the reader; its thorough and closely reasoned treatment of a complex subject allows no shortcuts. But those who persevere to the end are amply rewarded. Feser and Bessette accomplish what they set out to do: present a badly needed corrective to what recently has been a largely one-sided treatment of capital punishment. Catholics who are open to hearing the case for it – perhaps for the first time – will find this book indispensable.