Each of the scriptures below concern a given criminal procedure topic. All scriptures are from
the New International Version, 1984. Begin this assignment by meditating on the given
scriptures. You may even want to pray about them. Psalm 119:18 recommends this prayer:
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Once you have done that, answer
the questions below.
Witnesses
• Deuteronomy 19:15 “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any
crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the
testimony of two or three witnesses.”
• Deuteronomy 17:6 “On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be
put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one
witness.”
Cross Examination
• Proverbs 18:17 “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes
forward and questions him.”
• Deuteronomy 19:16–19 “If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man
of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the
LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges
must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving
false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his
brother. You must purge the evil from among you.”
Physical Evidence
• Deuteronomy 22:13–18 “If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes
her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman,
but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” then the girl’s
father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the
gate. The girl’s father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to
this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find
your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.”
Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the
elders shall take the man and punish him.”
• Exodus 22:12-13 “But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make
restitution to the owner. If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in
the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.”
Answer the following questions for your thread:
• Did these scriptures change or confirm your views about how criminal procedure should operate according to each topic?
• How does our current system deal with each topic?
• How could our current system change (or not) to deal with each topic in a more biblical manner?
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