I know what you are saying, and I'm all for God saving any man. No doubt he works in strange and incredible, unbelievable ways.
Nevertheless, the command to deal justice, and to punish murder with the sword, is not an option. It's a word from the creator of the universe. He doesn't say to follow his direction... unless we don't like it, or if violating it might save someone. God is not going to hold it against us for following his command, any more than he will withhold judgment for not following his command. Which side of that do you wish to be on?
Do you believe that if He wants to accomplish something, that us by passing a law is going to thwart God? Just think about that for a second. Is God biting his nails thinking "oh no, they might kill him!". If capital punishment in NY had not been abolished, you can trust that God would accomplished his goal in some other way. This is not such a wimpy God, that a few overpaid elected wind bags passing a law, can stop him. Otherwise, christianity would have been wiped out hundreds of years ago.
Consider this for a moment. Nearly every murderer sitting in death row, and the majority in prison for life, are second time offenders. People who were caught once, and allowed to murder again because we did not follow the Lord's command.
How many of those thousands of innocent murdered victims may not have been saved? How many were denied a chance to hear the Gospel because we failed to stop their killers the FIRST time, as God commanded? I hope you can see it from my perspective... I don't want to answer to God for that.
I don't want to stand before the White Throne Judgment saying the reason I completely disobeyed his command, completely disregarded his word, causing thousands of lives to be murdered before hearing of salvation, because I thought there might be another David Berkowitz on death row.
I can almost hear the reply. You were supposed to do as I instructed and let me worry about the David Berkowitzs of the world.
It reminds me of a bit of TV evangelists who commit fraud and shading accounting, and deceptive TV shows, and then claim they did it all to save people. Yes they might be saving people. However, if you're sinning, you are sinning, and there is no excuse.
This seems to read a bit harder than I had intended it to come across. This is not an attack. I am, as always, saying what I know about a topic
Please don't take this as confrontational. When I think of how our God would want me to act, I remember this:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matt. 7:21-23).
Quiet frankly, that scares the fire out me 