Whether It Is Lawful to Kill Sinners?
Objection 1: It would seem unlawful to kill men who have sinned. For
our Lord in the parable (Matt. 13) forbade the uprooting of the
cockle which denotes wicked men according to a gloss. Now whatever is
forbidden by God is a sin. Therefore it is a sin to kill a sinner.
Obj. 2: Further, human justice is conformed to Divine justice. Now
according to Divine justice sinners are kept back for repentance,
according to Ezech. 33:11, "I desire not the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his way and live." Therefore it seems
altogether unjust to kill sinners.
Obj. 3: Further, it is not lawful, for any good end whatever, to do
that which is evil in itself, according to Augustine (Contra Mendac.
vii) and the Philosopher (Ethic. ii, 6). Now to kill a man is evil in
itself, since we are bound to have charity towards all men, and "we
wish our friends to live and to exist," according to _Ethic._ ix, 4.
Therefore it is nowise lawful to kill a man who has sinned.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (Ex. 22:18): "Wizards thou shalt not
suffer to live"; and (Ps. 100:8): "In the morning I put to death all
the wicked of the land."
_I answer that,_ As stated above (A. 1), it is lawful to kill dumb
animals, in so far as they are naturally directed to man's use, as
the imperfect is directed to the perfect. Now every part is directed
to the whole, as imperfect to perfect, wherefore every part is
naturally for the sake of the whole. For this reason we observe that
if the health of the whole body demands the excision of a member,
through its being decayed or infectious to the other members, it will
be both praiseworthy and advantageous to have it cut away. Now every
individual person is compared to the whole community, as part to
whole. Therefore if a man be dangerous and infectious to the
community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and
advantageous that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good,
since "a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6).
Reply Obj. 1: Our Lord commanded them to forbear from uprooting the
cockle in order to spare the wheat, i.e. the good. This occurs when
the wicked cannot be slain without the good being killed with them,
either because the wicked lie hidden among the good, or because they
have many followers, so that they cannot be killed without danger to
the good, as Augustine says (Contra Parmen. iii, 2). Wherefore our
Lord teaches that we should rather allow the wicked to live, and that
vengeance is to be delayed until the last judgment, rather than that
the good be put to death together with the wicked. When, however, the
good incur no danger, but rather are protected and saved by the
slaying of the wicked, then the latter may be lawfully put to death.
Reply Obj. 2: According to the order of His wisdom, God sometimes
slays sinners forthwith in order to deliver the good, whereas
sometimes He allows them time to repent, according as He knows what
is expedient for His elect. This also does human justice imitate
according to its powers; for it puts to death those who are dangerous
to others, while it allows time for repentance to those who sin
without grievously harming others.
Reply Obj. 3: By sinning man departs from the order of reason, and
consequently falls away from the dignity of his manhood, in so far as
he is naturally free, and exists for himself, and he falls into the
slavish state of the beasts, by being disposed of according as he is
useful to others. This is expressed in Ps. 48:21: "Man, when he was
in honor, did not understand; he hath been compared to senseless
beasts, and made like to them," and Prov. 11:29: "The fool shall
serve the wise." Hence, although it be evil in itself to kill a man
so long as he preserve his dignity, yet it may be good to kill a man
who has sinned, even as it is to kill a beast. For a bad man is worse
than a beast, and is more harmful, as the Philosopher states (Polit.
i, 1 and _Ethic._ vii, 6).
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