Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 7/11/2009

Question
under what laws in torah does it justify jewish men not carrying out the death
penalty for crimes these days? is it even carried out in the jewish community and
i just don;t know about it? i don't want to carry it out myself(!) i was just
wondering because it seems to be a big part of judaism...

Answer
Jake,
Torah law (Deut. 17:6) requires two eye witnesses for someone to be put to death for a capital crime. Jewish law describes in detail the requirements for said witnesses. Around the Second-century, Rabbi Hillel developed a standard calendar because qualified judges, concerning the new moon, were becoming extinct. How much more judges who might sentence one to death? Jewish law errs on the side of safety and the death penalty has not been carried in hundreds if not thousands of years. Hope this helps. Shalom!