Good article. He rightly points out that one Christian reason against the death penalty is that it removes from the most needy soul the further opportunity for repentance. Against that, one has to weigh the justice due the victims of crime, the cause of order in society, and the duty to prevent the person from committing additional crimes.
It's a tough issue ... although in the case of Mr. Williams, I'm inclined to think that the 24 years since his conviction was quite a good opportunity to repent, if he was ever going to.
I agree that there are fair arguments on both sides, and with your conclusion that the right thing was done in this case. I wonder what the argument is in the case of a just war. Clearly, when killed the enemy would be deprived of later repentance. How is it different?
Well said. It is a simple fact of the brokenness of the world, that in reality some people are beyond redemption. How many times in the life of Christ did seekers turn and walk away because they could not accept his call to die?