At the end of this week's Torah portion, there is a mini-rebellion. Some Jews "go whoring" with Moabite women, leading to idol worship (Numbers 25). The idolatry seems to be treated as more or less treasonous and eventually, God calls for some sort of execution of the ringleaders.
Sforno translates Numb. 25:4 (proposing the execution) as calling for execution "in the face of the sun"- that is (according to Sforno), "so that the people will see the execution of those who worshipped the idols and they will not protest ... and thus they will find atonement."
In other words, Sforno thinks that if the execution is "in the face of the sun" (presumably, in public) the public "will find atonement"- i.e., will be deterred from similar acts, and/or atone for their own failure to prevent the fiasco. In other words Sforno is asserting that capital punishment for the idol worshippers will deter further misconduct.
The debate over capital punishment and deterrence persists today. It seems to me that Sforno is coming down on the pro-capital punishment side- at least where the execution is speedy and obviously justified.
Does this support capital punishment today? Since I am generally inclined to support capital punishment, I'd like to say yes.
But on second thought... the Torah is talking about a situation* in which (1) the crime took place in public, so guilt and innocence aren't really an issue, (2) the punishment is presumably certain and swift enough so that the public remembers the crime at the time of the punishment. I don't think these circumstances typically apply to most murders today. Today, the most atrocious murders are usually committed in secret (thus making guilt harder to prove) and executions are so rare that murderers know that even if they get caught their chances of execution are rare.
Of course, we could make executions easier- but how do we do that without increasing the chances of an innocent person being executed?
All of which is a long way of saying that sometimes the wisdom of the Middle Ages might not always be so easy to apply today.
*Even leaving aside the religious freedom issues inherent in capital punishment for idolatry!
