Jeff Jacoby

Capital punishment is not an act of vengeance, Jeff Jacoby asserts in the following viewpoint. According to Jacoby, death penalty opponents have misinterpreted the Biblical adage “an eye for an eye.” He contends that instead of supporting vengeful justice, the “eye for an eye” passage of the Bible is meant to instruct that the guilty must be punished in proportion to their crimes. Jacoby maintains that the Bible overrode the barbarism of earlier days by teaching that punishment must be fair and neither excessive nor lenient. Jacoby is a syndicated columnist.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Where in the Bible can the phrase “an eye for an eye” be found, as stated by Jacoby?
2. According to the author, what was the chief concern of ancient lawmakers?
3. What is the average...