Note our bobblehead bathrobed hero in the background.
Calvin did have the power to have someone executed. Isn't that what happened to Servetus?
1) Calvin long said he wanted to kill Servetus for his beliefs. Servetus denied the Trinity.
2) When Servetus was dumb enough to come to Geneva Calvin concocted a way for Servetus to be accused by someone other than himself. Why? Because the civil law demanded that, in heresy cases, accused and accuser both be held in custody until the matter was resolved. Calvin thought this was too inconvenient for himself so he convinced one of his lackeys to do it for him. That man was named Nicolas de la Fontaine.
3) All scholars agree that Calvin ruled Geneva. There may have been a city council, but he ruled that too from behind the scenes. Even Protestant scholars admit this readily enough. This is clearly seen in how Calvin dealt with one of his political opponents from the Libertine party (so-called) -- he had him beheaded in 1547. The Libertines responded by insulting Calvin at every opportunity. They named their dogs "Calvin" for instance.
4) The formal complaints against Servetus, 38 articles worth, were drawn up by guess who? Calvin.
5) Among the charges were that Servetus had been a heretic for 24 years and in various countries. Calvin in other words had decided he, and his puppet council/court, held the authority to try Servetus for things done outside of their supposed jurisdiction. Calvin was determined to kill Servetus.
6) The charges included Servetus' defaming of Calvin.
7) When the trial began, Servetus took a swipe at Calvin again saying he would prove his beliefs with scripture. Soon afterward the prosecution side had another helper – a friend of Calvin’s.
8) While the trial proceeded Calvin continued a constant series of sermons from the pulpit denouncing Servetus.
9) Servetus came before the court with a motion that the charges be dropped. His said that it was not the custom of the Apostles nor of the first Christian emperors to treat heretics as guilty of capital crime, but only to excommunicate or at the most banish them. He also pointed out that he had committed no crime in their territory. He also pointed out that he was a stranger and ignorant of the customs of the land and of Geneva’s legal procedure, so he asked for legal counsel to conduct his case for him.
10) The city of Vienne which had once captured Servetus and had a case against him asked that he be sent back because he had actually committed crimes there unlike in Geneva. REMEMBER, SERVETUS COMMITTED NO CRIME IN GENEVA. Geneva refused to send Servetus back and determined to prosecute him there.
11) The judges, under the influence of Calvin, decided not to allow the Trinitarian arguments to take place in open court, but instead ordered that Servetus conduct a written debate with…wait for it….Calvin.
12) The written results were to be sent to all of the Swiss reformed churches for their opinions. This could not have pleased Calvin because two years prior to that that same process had freed Bolsec whom Calvin demanded be put to death for disagreeing with his teachings on predestination!
13) Repeated calls by Servetus for legal counsel were ignored.
14) At length Servetus was condemned to be burned. Geneva had the old imperial (CIVIL) law still on the books even though Calvin himself had revised Geneva’s law code. Calvin tried to get beheading substituted for burning, but the matter had passed beyond his control.
15) Servetus was burned to death with his books on Oct. 27, 1553.
16) Many people were horrified by this event. Calvin wrote that “the dogs are now barking at me on all sides.” Calvin was said to be hated more in Protestant Basel than in Catholic Paris.
Why?
Because everyone knew that Calvin killed Servetus, and killed him for personal reasons and not just for heresy.
17) Two months after Servetus’ burning Calvin was almost driven from Geneva by the complaints.
18) The following year he published a book to defend his actions. Why did he feel the need?
Calvin most certainly did kill Servetus.
Note our bobblehead bathrobed hero in the background.
Oh, please! You make innunedos and provide no facts nor references. Your statement, "There may have been a city council, but he ruled that too from behind the scenes." is worthy of being the headlines on the World Weekly News. Calvin actually lobbied unsuccessfully to have the council change the mode of execution. That doesn't sound like someone who "pulled strings".
The city council followed the law of the day and executed Servetus according to their law. You did neglect to mention that the Catholic Church also was seeking to execute Servetus, so I would think that you would be grateful that Gevena beat you to it. I would suggest you read the history of Michael Servetus Biography
If you really want a more interesting perspective of Christian leadership I would suggest an objective study of the various Popes who reportedly ran brothels, were heretics, and lived in splendor while the masses starved; all the while they were issuing decrees from the "Chair of Peter". And we won't even go into the contested "Pope Joan" incident.