Steve Wright, the killer of five Ipswich prostitutes, and Levi Bellfield, who murdered two young women in London, have this week joined the ranks of Britain's 35 other "whole life tariff" prisoners. The families of two of Steve Wright's victims have called for the death penalty to be reinstated.

At first glance, the Bible would appear to support their desire for retributive justice. After all, what could be clearer than the lex talionis encapsulated in Deuteronomy 19:21 "Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot"? Christopher Townsend explained in a 1997 Cambridge Paper, An Eye For An Eye? The Morality Of Punishment:

"The biblical endorsement of retribution is qualified and carefully nuanced. The fundamental aim is not to inflict suffering on offenders but to reassert the existence of the moral order that governs human life. That moral order emphasises the connections between justice, right relationships and seeking after community well-being. For this reason, punishment should normally aim both at making reparation to victims and at restoring offenders into the community."

Yet, if justice is to be seen to be done, the punishment for serial killers surely lies outside the realm of what is "normally" imposed? Even if there are hints that the principle was flexible, the Old Testament quite clearly makes provision for capital punishment for the most serious crimes against the life of others and the New Testament reminds us that "the one who is in authority ... does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4).

So, should the compelling and emotive case for the ultimate punishment trump the principle of respect for all life and the possibility of repentance and forgiveness for all? Or should we accept that judgement is the Lord's, leave room for God's wrath, and thereby overcome evil with good (Romans 12:19-21)?

It is instructive to consider the two conditions required by Mosaic Law for when the death penalty could be legally imposed. Firstly, that the murder was premeditated (Numbers 35:22-24, Deuteronomy 19:4-6), a condition clearly satisfied in the cases of both Steve Wright and Levi Bellfield. Secondly, that there be at least two or three witnesses to the actual murder (Deuteronomy 17:6,19:15). Given that there were no witnesses to any of the murders in either Wright or Bellfield's case, this condition is clearly not met. Therefore, even if we were to accept a case for capital punishment, its use would not appear to be sanctioned on either of these occasions.

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