DEATH PENALTY
WHEN LIFE GENERATES DEATH (LEGALLY)

CHRISTIANITY

Since its origins, Christianity presented ambiguity about death penalty. Substantially excluded in Mt 5,44 ("love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"), in Lc 6, 35-37 ("...don't judge and you won't be judged; don't condemn and you won't be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven") and in Gv 8, 1-11 (in the adulteress's episode), that punishment becomes admissible in the Paul's epistle to the Romans about the submission to authority; and a similar ambiguity can be seen in apologists' and Church fathers' texts, from Tertullian (De Idolatria) and Lactantius (Divinae Institutiones), against death penalty, to Augustin, who admits in some circustances the "sword right".
In biblical law, death penalty is comminated, among other crimes, for premeditated murder (Es 21, 12; Lv 24, 7), kidnapping and selling a person (Es 21, 16; Dt 24, 7), witchcraft (Es 22, 17), violation of sabbatical rest (Es 35, 2), human sacrifice (Lv 20, 2), abuse and strokes to one's parents (ES 21, 15; Lv 20, 9), adultery and incest (Lv 20, 10-12; Dt 22, 22), idolatry (Dt 17, 2-5; 19, 17-18).

Nowadays, Catholic Church has a precise attitude: fighting against death penalty, in every case. Pope has more than once made appeals to avoid imminent executions: the case of Joseph O'Dell, sentenced to death in 1997, which caused outcry and reactions by all the world's governments, is an example of that.

However, death penalty is theoretically still in force in the Vatican City, only in case of attempt on Pope's life, wellbeing or freedom or in case of attempt on a foreign head of state, when the law of this country provides for this penalty (Vatican law 7th June, 1929, nr. 11, paragraph 4). In Vatican last executions date back to Pius IX's papacy (1846-78).

Lutheranism