“Thou shall not kill” is foundational to my understanding of spiritual life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am working on the ongoing conformity of my life to a prolife ethic in matters of birth, life, and death. I see this personal call and responsibility to be different than the purpose and responsibilities of Governments ruling through law and justice.
Within my constitutional rights and responsibilities I seek to communicate, influence, vote and support those officials, laws and elected representatives that best represent my views of the goal of law and government. This allows me the ability to separate between what I might do and what others may do. What I may feel is ethically or morally wrong for me, doesn't mean it is ethically or morally wrong for others within certain restraints and duties.
This also alows me to divide matters that may fall in the sacred or secular realm as well. I can extend certain rights and duties to others from a citizen position that I wouldn't choose as a follower of Jesus.
To my knowledge, the Bible actually states “Thou shalt not murder” according to my version. Murder is quite distinguishable from “kill”. As far as my viewpoint, I am reluctantly supportive of the death penalty. There is certainly a “slippery slope” factor to consider as well as the whole “Old Testament vs New Testament” issue to weigh. From an economic standpoint, it is certainly cheaper than to spend uncalculable thousands of dollars on rehabilitation where it can be argued that some people cannot be rehabilitated. From a Sociological view, I believe certain cancers need to be eliminated, certain corrupt files purged, to avoid damaging or killing the whole system.